Former Union home minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed is fighting for more than a seat in Anantnag. He has nurtured the dream of defeating the National Conference (NC) on his home turf for life. With daughter Mehbooba in tow, the Congress candidate is now campaigning as never before to win an ego clash here with the Abdullahs -- synonymous with the NC and the first family of Kashmir.A politically sensitive south Kashmir constituency, Anantnag has been the cradle of all major political movements in the State. Its 7.56 lakh voters are known to be followers of extremist ideologies ranging from that of the right-wing Jamait-e-islami, the leftist CPI(M) and pro-Pakistan militants to pro-India counter-insurgents. Known for their strategic voting, these blocks of voters appear to be disposed towards an anti-NC candidate, and Sayeed fits the bill.
However, giving him stiff competition is a ``jilted'' Maqbool Dar of the Janata Dal, who won the seat last time. The NC has fielded an academic, Mohammad Yusuf Taing, whois more famous as the ghost writer of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah's biography.
Sayeed is focusing his campaign on initiating talks with separatists and an ``alternative'' to the ``authoritarian'' Farooq Abdullah.
Dar, on the other hand, is projecting himself as a wronged man -- ``ditched'' by the NC that refused support to him -- and as a ``humble farmer''. His guns too are trained on Abdullah. ``I sent tonnes of money to Farooq Abdullah from the Centre,'' says the outgoing Union Minister of State for Home. ``Where is that?''
Last time, in the absence of an NC candidate, Dar had won the prestigious seat with a margin of nearly 58,000 votes.
But now, the Janata Dal leader is fighting a lonely battle, his own party followers having deserted him in view of political exigency. ``When our party is hellbent on pleasing Farooq Abdullah at the cost of party interests, why should they not desert us?'' says a close aide. The Dar camp is also angry at the United Front, which despite assurances, failed to convincethe NC, one of its constituents, to support his candidature.
``Give me once more chance,'' he now pleads at small rallies, comprising largely shoppers rounded up at marketplaces. ``I will make Farooq Abdullah accountable for all the central funds.'' But his appeal, emotional at times, has one drawback: the voters can't have forgotten his year-long alliance with the same Abdullah.
In spite of the snowfall and sustained attempts by militants to ground political activity through selective killings of party workers, electioneering is on at a feverish pitch here. Folk tunes blare out from loudspeakers fitted on vehicles hired by parties. These go around the countryside, escorted by armed guards.
Only, the NC seems to be keeping its campaign low-pitch, and the general reasoning is that it is because its candidate is not a political entity. However, Taing's major advantage is the grass-roots support his party enjoys in the seat.
The NC also has to factor in the small, yet powerful J&K Ikhwan this time. Acounter-insurgent group that has lately joined the BJP, it holds considerable sway in Anantnag town and is considered capable of tilting the balance against the NC, their staunchest enemy.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
