NC’s most sought-after face, Aga Ruhullah makes his presence felt in J&K polls

“We had called Omar sahib for campaigning but our workers did not seem to be enthused. They insisted on bringing in Aga sahib so we had to request him to take some time out for us,” said one of NC’s campaign managers for an Assembly seat in north Kashmir.

The crowd, it appears, is there to catch a glimpse of senior NC leader and Srinagar MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, the most sought-after campaigner among NC candidates. Express Photo by Shuaib Massodi

Cutting across Uri to the Line of Control (LoC) to Zadibal in the heart of old Srinagar city to Kupwara in the North and Shopian, bordering Jammu in the south, Ruhullah has been seen campaigning for party candidates across the Kashmir Valley. A descendant of a prominent Shia cleric, he has campaigned among Sunnis, too, with his pro-Kashmir and anti-BJP politics finding takers in both communities.

Ruhullah’s words also seem to strike a chord with the crowd. “We are here only for Aga sahib. He is a true leader and represents our aspirations. We are firmly behind him. My friends and I are all Sunnis but we are here to listen to him,” 26-year-old Aqib Rashid says at the event in Gulmarg, which votes in the third phase on October 1.

The 47-year-old MP, who has been involved in politics from an early age and won the Budgam Assembly seat three consecutive times in 2002, 2008 and 2014, rebranded his politics after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

As NC leaders take the stage after him, Ruhullah gets busy obliging youths with selfie requests. Express Photo by Shuaib Massodi

“We have rivers, streams, and resources. The removal of Article 370 means we cannot earn a livelihood for ourselves as they (the Centre) will bring people from outside and sell our resources to them … Our Gulmarg should not be with the people of Nagpur or Delhi. The removal of Article 370 also means they want us to become Hindus or as they say, if we want to remain Muslims, we must be Muslims the way the BJP and RSS want us to. I stand up to them and tell them we will be Muslims as prescribed in the Quran and by the Prophet. It gives me courage when I stand up to them,” Ruhullah says, receiving a rapturous reception from the crowd.

The MP was the only NC leader to speak out against the abrogation of Article 370 and even targeted his party for softening its stand on the issue. This has transformed him into a popular mass leader.

Not someone to mince his words, he lashes out at the BJP and cautions his party as well. “The youth are backing you today. You must not switch sides to the BJP due to pressure or greed. If anyone does it, I will stand with these people against you,” he says.

As NC leaders take the stage after him, Ruhullah gets busy obliging youths with selfie requests. His presence at election rallies this time has got the crowds excited to an extent that no NC leader has been able to do in recent times.