Sofi leads PC’s proxy list

By participating in the polls, Sofi says he is only ‘‘carrying forward Lone’s legacy’’, which envisages an amicable resolution of the Kashmir issue. He believes that contesting the elections is not tantamount to ‘‘abandoning the struggle for Azadi’’. Instead, it means pleading for the cause of Kashmir in a democratic way.

Addressing huge gatherings during his polls campaigns, Sofi advocates the need to change strategies for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute, as per the wishes of the Kashmiris, in the current international scenario.

Lashing out at the Hurriyat’s political immaturity, he thunders: ‘‘Colin Powell’s statement provided us (the Hurriyat) with a golden opportunity. We should have grabbed it. What do they want us to do? Should we postpone our day-to-day problems till our political struggle is over? We want freedom. We are part of this movement and we have given a lot of sacrifices for it.’’

Sofi has another agenda too. Having lived under Lone’s shadow in the Handwara belt, Sofi has a running political feud with NC strongman and Forest Minister Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, who is now pitted against him in the polls.

For all purposes, Sofi has resigned from the PC membership. However, his statements are more or less in keeping with the top party leadership. And the party’s colours are visible in his constituency, which displays the blue-and-white flags and buntings.

As he assures the people that the separatist issue will be raised in the Assembly, Sofi also vows to ‘‘disband the forces that have indulged in human rights violations and end corruption and misgovernance.’’

Mirchal: The weakest link

NAZIR MASOODI

ABDUL Rashid Mirchal is the People’s Conference proxy candidate in Karnah Assembly constituency. But unlike the party’s other proxies in Kupwara district, he is not considered a strong candidate.

The PC only started to re-establish its base in Karnah last year. Now it faces a tough fight from the two other parties in the fray — the National Conference and the Congress, both of which enjoy considerable support. In fact, despite the anti-incumbency factor, the main contest seems to be between NC nominee and sitting MLA Kafeel-u-Rehman and Mohammad Sikader Khan of the Congress.

After the 1995 delimitation, Karnah Assembly segment mainly comprises of Paharis. Only 25 per cent of the voters are Gujjars. As the area is considered ‘‘militancy-free’’, local issues, especially development and employment, dominates regional politics. So Mirchal cannot woo voters with the Azadi poll plank. Incidentally, this was the only area in frontier Kupwara where the poll percentage was over 60 per cent in the 1996 elections.

Lone party backs ex-NC man

NAZIR MASOODI

AN old guard of the National Conference, Ghulam Qadir Mir is now backed by the Peoples’ Conference in the contest against NC candidate Mir Saifulla for the Kupwara seat.

A former minister, Mir was a close associate of NC founder, the late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, and joined the Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front, spearheaded by Abdullah in 1962. In 1966, he was appointed acting president of the Plebiscite Front.

In 1971, Mir was arrested and jailed for one year. He won the 1977 elections on a NC ticket and was appointed as minister in Abdullah’s Cabinet. However, he lost the 1983 elections to Peoples’ Conference founder Abdul Gani Lone.

This time, after Mir was denied a ticket by the National Conference, which decided to field its sitting MLA from Kupwara, Mir Saifullah, he filed his nomination as an Independent candidate. His nomination, however, is fully backed by the People’s Conference, which has roped in its supporters for Mir’s poll campaign.

With Mir belonging to Lone’s village of Harie in Kralpora block, he is expected to receive massive support from the block. While his decision to contest as an Independent may not have affected the party cadre in the area, Mir is reported to have wooed a number of old NC workers. Now, the PC’s support has ended the decades-old feud between the Lone and Mir families.