Thank God it’s Monday?

‘‘We should contest. Otherwise we will soon cease to exist as a political force.’’

I was intrigued by his reply — especially since there were no indications of the party fielding proxy candidates at that time. This came from someone who belongs to a separatist party, an important constituent of the Hurriyat Conference, which has been opposing elections. Moreover, he was a resident of an area next to the LoC. At first, I brushed aside his opinion as the personal view of a old man tired with years of violence. But that was not so. Three more men, all belonging to villages near Handwara, agreed with him. All wanted their party to participate in the polls. I jerked up. This was unusual, radically different from 1996.

‘‘We don’t want to abandon the Azadi movement. We don’t want the sacrifices of the last 12 years to go waste. But we want immediate relief as well,’’ explained one. ‘‘We have been crushed all these years and nobody is in a position to help us out. If we boycott the polls again, it will only mean another six years of suffering,’’ reasoned another.

The villagers’ opinion revealed the desperation to make a clean break with the separatists’ strategy. ‘‘We and our families joined the separatist movement and supported our leaders all these years. But the fact that we shied away from mainstream politics has proved fatal. The National Conference has been our rival for years, even before the start of militancy. Now, when we are not on the scene at all, they use the government machinery, especially the Task Force, to crush us under their boots,’’ said a villager. ‘‘Our voice gets lost and we have no way to save ourselves.’’

‘‘We do want Azadi but we cannot sustain ourselves on that slogan alone. The villages dominated by our party workers have been ignored. We have no roads, no water supply, no electricity. As we are in the separatist camp, we are not even supposed to protest,’’ said one. ‘‘A nocturnal knock on the door has turned into the most frightening thing. It either means that you will die or that you will be arrested. And if we are killed or arrested, we have nowhere to go,’’ he added.

The villagers raised some basic questions: ‘‘Do the Kashmiris have to put a freeze on their lives till Azadi? Do we have to wait for good roads till the bigger political question of Kashmir is resolved? If we have an opportunity to send our people to the Assembly where they can raise our demands and put pressure on the government to end harassment by the police and security forces, why don’t we grab that opportunity? Why can’t the Hurriyat distance its demand for resolution of the Kashmir dispute from the issue of local governance?’’

It was evident that the winds of change were blowing all over the Valley. Rumours of the PC’s proxy participation soon did the rounds. And when one of its top leaders decided to jump into the poll fray, the villagers’ comments made sense. Ghulam Mohideen Sofi, who has been associated with the party since 1975, resigned and contested as an Independent candidate.

Handwara: August 29 was the last day for filing nominations. Handwara was burning with poll fever, unable to believe that Sofi had decided to contest. About 15,000 people turned up to join his rally, dancing and singing. A group of youngsters on horseback, carrying the PC’s blue-and-white flags, led the way. Sofi may be a proxy candidate but there is a groundswell of support in his favour.

A few days later, I was again in Handwara — this time with NC president Omar Abdullah. The first halt was Langate, a few miles from Handwara. In a disappointing show for the ruling party, only a few hundred party supporters had gathered. As we moved closer to Handwara, things started looking up for the NC. About 5,000 villagers were present at the rally addressed by Omar and Forest Minister Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan, who is contesting against Sofi here. In fact, the enormous public response in Handwara which cuts across party lines is likely to confuse even the most experienced pollster. The only thing clear was that the people here had decided to brave militant threats and join the poll process.

Sopore: On my return, I stopped in Sopore, often called the capital of separatism in the Valley. Traditionally the political bastion of Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the poll fever seemed to have left this place untouched. The ruling party can breathe easy here, since boycott means an easy win. In fact, NC candidate Abdul Ahad Vakil has not even bothered to launch a proper campaign.

Bandipore: Thirty-five kilometres from Sopore, here both the frontrunners here are surrendered militants — Javid Hussain Shah of the National Conference and Usman Majeed of the Awami League. The PC, which has a considerable support base here, is silently supporting Majeed. Militants have been active here. Recently, People’s Democratic Party candidate Mohammad Abdullah was shot at. Another counter-insurgent leader close to Shah, Bashir Ahmad Khan, was killed.

Gulmarg: Traditionally an NC territory, Gulmarg is represented by Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah’s younger brother, Mustafa Kamal. Development issues dominate over politics. The incumbent Kamal faces serious threat from arch rival Ghulam Hassan Mir, a PDP candidate.

Pattan: The neighbouring Pattan constituency may prove to be an easier win for the NC, which has fielded Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, an influential Shia leader. The contest here is more of a Shia-Sunni sectarian conflict.

Amidst this unusual poll fever, the militants struck. The assassination of State Law Minister Mushtaq Ahmad Lone earlier this week has given rise to a deep chill. And in this changing scenario, where every development heralds a drastic change, only time will tell what is in store for the Valley.