Politicians from Hindi-heartland flock Kashmir to woo voters

In an unlikely scenario, politicians from the Hindi heartland of the country are making a beeline to Kashmir in an election year.

In an unlikely scenario, politicians from the Hindi heartland of the country are making a beeline to Kashmir in an election year. After the rallies in winter by UP stalwarts Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav, the leader of the Lok Jana Shakti, Ram Vilas Paswan, held a public meeting in the heart of Srinagar on Monday.

Addressing a modest gathering of people in the pouring rain, Paswan took on issues that have been mounting in the state for several months. He said he would ask the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to form a committee to probe the disappearances in Kashmir, adding that he would raise the issue of unidentified graves.

He also spoke of addressing the problem of unemployment in the state. “We are setting up a Rs 208-crore steel plant at Lasipora, Pulwama, in south Kashmir. The project would create job opportunities for the local youth,” Paswan said in his address at the Sher-i-Kashmir Park here.

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Paswan’s rally shows a growing interest in Kashmir from politicians in UP and Bihar. Even though mainstream politics has hurtled back to centrestage in the Valley with PDP, National Conference and Congress shaping the political discourse, the foray into Kashmir by the influential regional parties from North India has come as a surprising development. Except for the Congress and BJP, political parties from outside the state have traditionally been shy of contesting in Kashmir.

Earlier in winter Samajwadi Party President Mulayam Singh Yadav made an attempt to further his political cause in the state by holding a rally at Sher-i-Kashmir stadium. He made all the right noises, claiming that Kashmiris lost faith in India because of the Congress.

“It was the Congress which arrested Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in 1953 and thus created the distrust between Kashmiris and New Delhi,” Mulayam said, addressing a gathering of about 2,000 people. “Now the party has a problem with the SP. They are not happy about us speaking for Muslims.”

Paswan claimed he would field eight candidates in the ensuing Assembly elections, saying, “ We hope to win and consolidate our party in the state.” His rally continued for almost the entire day with several leaders of the party, including the J-K vice president Sanjay Saraf, addressing the people. Tellingly, the rally was held in peace at a spot where just two years ago there was a fidayeen attack on Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s rally.

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Before Paswan, BSP chief Mayawati had held a massive rally in Jammu.

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