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Journalism of Courage
In February this year, police vehicles mounted with loudspeakers had announced across Jammu and Kashmir about the extension of the ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami for the next five years.
On Saturday, the members of a key panel of the Jamaat-e-Islami – which was initially banned in 2019 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) – held a rally for an Independent candidate, Aijaz Ahmad Mir, 38, whom they are backing in the Zainapora constituency in Shopian district in the upcoming J&K Assembly polls.
Just off the main road in the Zainapora town in South Kashmir, men and women of all age groups trickled into an open ground surrounded by tall poplars to attend the rally in the afternoon. On the stage were some members of the Jamaat panel besides Aijaz Ahmad Mir.
Mir is a former People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA from Zainapora, which was called Wachi prior to the 2022 delimitation. Last month, Mir quit the PDP after being denied a ticket and threw his hat in the ring as an Independent. A week later, he received support from the Jamaat panel, which is trying to script its re-entry into electoral politics after more than 30 years.
Addressing a gathering of about 800 people from the stage, Gull Mohammad War, a member of the Jamaat panel, said, “Many geopolitical realities have changed. We want an inclusive government for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Whether that is NC, PDP, People’s Conference (PC) or Engineer Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party (AIP). That is why we did not put up candidates in Bijbehara or Ganderbal.”
Iltija Mufti of the PDP, the daughter of former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti, and NC vice-president and ex-CM Omar Abdullah are contesting from Bijbehara and Ganderbal respectively.
Calling for lifting of the ban on the Jamaat and urging the Centre for a “dialogue”, War said, “When blood was needed, we gave our blood.
When jail was necessary, we went to jail. Now, this new state of affairs demands political reconciliation and resolution for the Kashmir issue.”
Mir spoke of the Jamaat’s influence in the area. “About 35% of the voters in this area are in some way influenced by the Jamaat,” he claimed, adding that the Jamaat vote that would go to the PDP in previous elections would “not happen this time”.
Mehran Salim, who was present at the rally, said, “The importance of these elections is heightened by Jamaat’s participation in it. Mir is our favoured candidate and with the Jamaat favouring him, it is our best case scenario.”
Maria Noor, 19, who will cast her first vote in this election, said, “We want to send a strong candidate to the Assembly. This is the first time elections are being held after 2019 (Article 370 abrogation), so we want our candidate to speak about the revocation of Article 370 and statehood.”
She added that while development will always be a concern, “the area has schools, a college and a hospital, which are adequate for our requirements”.
Amidst slogans for the release of the jailed Jamaat leaders, Aijaz Mir ended his speech with an attack on the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP. “The PDP denied me a ticket but I know I have the mandate of the people,” he said.
A former sarpanch from the area, Mir, 38, won the Zainapora seat in 2014 on the PDP ticket, defeating the NC’s Showkat Hussain Ganai.
In this election, Mir’s election symbol is a pressure cooker, the same symbol allotted to Engineer Rashid in the recent Lok Sabha polls. He is contesting against the PDP’s Ghulam Muhiudding Wani and the NC’s Showkat Hussain Ganaie, among other candidates in the fray.
The eight-member Jamaat panel has been in talks with the Centre in a bid to get the ban on the outfit lifted.
