Sajad Lone's U-Turns To Victory

The chants of 'Ambur Ambur, Koshur Ambur (Apple, Apple, Kashmiri Apple)' rang through the streets of North Kashmir’s Handwara as Sajad Lone, chairperson of the People's Conference, addressed his victory rally. Lone won by a slim margin of 662 votes over Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan of the National Conference in the Assembly elections as results were declared on October 8. 

The town erupted in celebration, with young boys carrying bundles of firecrackers in their hands and party banners featuring the apple symbol waving in the air.

Lone expressed gratitude to the people of Handwara, saying, "Today you have protected my honour, may Allah protect yours". 

Lone's win in Handwara is significant for his party, as his father, Abdul Gani Lone— a prominent separatist leader and founder of the People's Conference— had previously won the Handwara seat three times (1967, 1972, and 1977). However, National Conference's Choudhary Ramzan later dominated the seat, winning it four times (1983, 1987, 1996, and 2008).

Party spokesperson Adnan Ashraf Mir says that what translated to their win is that Sajad Lone had delivered ‘quite a bit’ during his previous tenure. “His focus on development, youth empowerment and education resonated with people of Handwara,” Adnan said, adding that even though there was a wave for the National Conference (NC) this time.

Lone's contest from North Kashmir's Kupwara, however, failed to produce the same results. He lost to PDP's Fayaz Ahmad Mir, standing third with less than 8,000 votes.

With only one seat in the J&K Assembly, Lone's party may have limited representation, but he remains one of the prominent faces in present day Kashmir Politics. 

Throughout his political career, Lone has made several U-turns, transforming from a separatist leader to a mainstream politician, then becoming the face of the BJP in the valley, and now advocating against the BJP. His personal connections remain a study in juxtapositions, making him a target for criticism from all sides.

Journey To Mainstream Politics

In March 2006, as winter was drawing to a close, Sajad Lone lived in his hut at Highlands Park Hotel for about eighty days in order to write a ‘vision document’ about the Kashmir solution and named it  ‘Achievable Nationhood’. Lone, a separatist at the time, began writing the document after meeting the then-prime minister Manmohan Singh in the nation's capital earlier that year as part of the Centre's effort to have talks with various outfits in the state. 

The 266-page document outlined a borderless Jammu & Kashmir Economic Union, a united trading zone with India and Pakistan in charge of Kashmir's defence and foreign affairs, respectively.

Fifty-seven-year old Sajjad Lone, an economics graduate from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, is the younger son of the late separatist leader Abdul Ghani Lone, who was instrumental in bringing together a group of separatist organisations in Kashmir to establish the Hurriyat Conference. Lone is married to a Pakistani national--Asma Khan, daughter of Amanullah Khan, one of the founding leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.

When a group of unidentified gunmen killed Lone's father on May 21, 2002, in Srinagar's Eidgah ground, Sajjad Lone and Bilal Lone were forced to take up the reins of the People’s Conference. 

Lone, who began his political career following in his father’s footsteps of separatist politics, eventually joined mainstream politics  in 2009, running for the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency and severing his ties with separatism. 

During the snowy February of 2022, I had the opportunity to sit down with Sajad Lone at his office in Srinagar. He shared his conviction that mainstream politics is the most viable way forward.

“As mainstream politicians, our role is to facilitate dialogue between the two primary parties to the Kashmir dispute – the Indian and Pakistani leadership – and foster a decent relationship,” he said. "Even though there are political disagreements,  we cannot afford a violent confrontation with New Delhi, sacrificing our youth as cannon fodder”

“We have to break the cycle of violence that has claimed the lives of our generations,” he added. 

Much before the BJP endorsed him and vice versa , Sajad Lone was also the darling of the Valley.

The BJP Connection

Sajad Lone led the People's Conference beyond his father's electoral legacy, winning two seats—Kupwara and Handwara—in the 2014 Assembly elections. In 2014, Lone defeated Ramzan by more than 5,000 votes in Handwara. 

After the 2014 general elections, Lone had a controversial meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where he referred to the PM as his elder brother. “I came as a Kashmiri to meet the Prime Minister and I was pleasantly surprised with his down-to-earth personality, his vision about bringing in investments into the state,” news agency PTI quoted him as having said then.

The meeting's goal was soon clear. Lone was appointed minister from the BJP quota in the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed-led PDP-BJP government, and he was reappointed when Mufti's daughter Mehbooba became chief minister a few months after his death.

In 2018, shortly after the BJP withdrew its support from the PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, Sajad Lone announced his intention to form a new government, citing backing from the BJP and other lawmakers.

However, before Lone could prove his majority, then-Gov. Satya Pal Malik dissolved the state assembly.

In the Valley, the BJP's proximity to Sajjad Lone has frequently led his opponents to label him as the party's local face.

However, this election, Lone surprised voters when he raised raised anti-Modi and anti-BJP slogans—‘Modi ka jo yaar hai, gaddar hai gaddar hai’ and ‘BJP ka jo yaar hai, gaddar hai gaddar hai’—after filing his nomination for the Kupwara assembly segment.

Mehak Banday, a journalist from Handwara and a staunch supporter of Sajad Lone, says that sometimes we should judge politicians from a human lens too. She says, “Sajad Lone’s vocal opposition to the BJP’s policies, despite previously being allied with them, shows his transformation and growth as a leader.” 

Mehak adds, “His willingness to challenge his own beliefs and adapt to changing circumstances just proves that he is just another human being learning from his mistakes.”