Nobody wants Brother Kamal

A 10-minute drive through the rice fields leads to Hariwantoo, a small village some 3 kms from Tangmarg. Villagers here recount what estranged them from the NC, a party they had identified with for years. As 65-year-old Abdul Salam Dar says: ‘‘I have voted five times in my life and I would admit my vote always went to the plough (the NC’s election symbol). But I regret it now.’’

Earlier, Dar says, the NC represented the dignity of Kashmiri people. It has now become a symbol of oppression, he says. ‘‘Farooq (Abdullah) who has come here to beg for our votes, doesn’t care about the common man. Every time he visits Delhi, all he demands is more security for himself. What has he done for us?’’, he asks.

‘‘In the past six years, every time we’ve had a problem and we went seeking Mustafa Kamal’s help, his security guards wouldn’t let us in. He was never accessible,’’ says Sheikh Mohammad Shafi.

In contrast, the villagers say, PDP candidate Ghulam Hassan Mir has lived amidst them. ‘‘Whenever our children would get picked up by the Army or the Special Operations Group of J-K police, we would approach him to plead our case with the authorities. He would get our children released. This has endeared us to Mir who would defeat Kamal with a huge margin.’’ Shafi says.

Nothwithstanding the locals’ response, Mustafa Kamal is sure that his party would win across the state. ‘‘We have undertaken development work. There may be some sections of people which are disillusioned but that should not be generalised. We will win not only in Gulmarg but in the entire state.’’ he said.

Another 25-minute drive brings one to Gulmarg. The Gondola cable car run by the government and propped as one of its achievements hasn’t impressed the locals much. The ponywallahs say it has only affected their business. ‘‘Maybe it has filled the government coffers but it has put us out of business. The government hasn’t trying rehabilitating us even as it does not tire of saying that Gulmarg has a sentimental value for the Sheikhs.’’ says ponywallah Mohammad Subhan.

Back in Tangmarg, Kamal has roped in elder bother Farooq to enliven the NC campaign. But if the poor turnout at the election rally is any indication, the voters seem to have given the ruling. As 24-year-old Fayaz Ahmad Bhat says: ‘‘Farooq says he would try to solve the problems of Kashmir after elections are over and the NC government is in place. Does he take us for fools? If he could not do anything when he was the boss, what can he do when he’s not in power here?’’