After polling out its favourite son in summer polls, Chenab Valley is feverish again. Though Ghulam Nabi Azad is doing his best to retain party’s influence in one of Kashmir’s most communally sensitive regions, Syed Asma reports the hazy situation has led stakeholders keep their fingers crossed

Doda-City
Panaromic view of Doda city.  Pic: Bilal Bahadur

He started his political career as the party’s block committee secretary in Doda’s Bleesa and eventually rose up to Congress’s ‘crisis manager’. Born and brought up in Doda, Ghulam Nabi Azad has come a long way. No other individual from the entire Chenab Valley has attained such stature in politics that he has!

In the life span of 65 years, Azad has given his 41 years to the Indian National Congress; and has attained a place of being a close-aid of his party supremo, Sonia Gandhi.

Ghulam Nabi Azad
Ghulam Nabi Azad

Belonging to an apolitical family of Doda, Azad has been doing ‘good’ in Congress. He has managed to gain significant portfolios and positions. But he hasn’t been successful in helping his party to gain a good footing in the region – Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban.

“No doubt, Azad is born in Doda but he never belonged to that region,” says Sayyid Malik a veteran journalist. “He has a shining political career but not many achievements are in his kitty for the region. Chenab valley was never fertile for Congress.”

Until 2002, Azad was just a unionist who belonged to a small village in Doda, believes Asim Hashmi, a lawyer from Doda. “But after he [Azad] decided to contest elections from his home constituency in Bhaderwah, Doda,” says Hashmi, “he started meeting people and started working seriously in the area.”

After facing defeat on the onset of his political career (in 1970), Azad eventually contested three state assembly elections from his hometown and won two – in 2002 and 2008.

“Azad is a man who takes his work very seriously,” continues Hashmi. “Till 2002, he was in Delhi but from the beginning of the year he came across and started building a good repo with the local.”

After Azad became the chief minister of the state, he started working on the road connectivity across Chenab region, the local say, besides initiating building up the infrastructure for tourism as well.

Sajad Kitchloo
Sajad Kitchloo

“It is only because of Ghulam Nabi Azad that Doda could get a Medical College and the people of entire region should be thankful to him,” says Hashmi, “we could otherwise never get it.”

A post graduate in Zoology, Azad remained block secretary of Congress committee in Blessa, Doda. As his “good work” piled up, Azad headed Congress Committee, Doda within the first five years of his political career. In the same year, 1977, he was nominated as the General Secretary of All India Youth Congress. Eventually at the age of 31, Azad rose up to become the first Muslim president of the All India Youth Congress.

Bashir Runiyal
Bashir Runiyal

In 1980 he took a big leap and entered into the central government as deputy minister in charge of law and justice. In later years Azad took charge of company affairs ministry, parliamentary affairs and civil aviation ministries.

Ten years after (1990), Azad enter into India’s house of elders. Besides, in the last UPA led government Azad handled yet another ministry of Health.

In the shinning career of being a unionist for many decades now, he has only once contested parliamentary elections from Chenab region and faced defeat. He lost by 60,976 to Dr Jatinder Singh Rana of BJP.

Presently, Jammu Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) considers Azad their star campaigner for wooing the voters in Chenab Valley; and Azad seems doing good job. He is presently batting for his cousin Mohammed Sharief Niaz contesting on Congress ticket from Bhaderwah.

GM Saroori
GM Saroori

Accompanying him in his rallies, Azad reminds people about the works done in his tenure (2005 to 2008), and promises them to make Chenab region a ‘model Valley’.

Niaz may win the seat because of his own repo and with Azad’s companionship. But Daleep Singh representing BJP may give him a tough run. Singh would cash almost all the votes of Village Defence Committees, but Election Commission of India has this time made it clear: all the locals guarding the polling booths would positively cast their votes. It makes at least 24,000 votes. The entire number would perhaps go to BJP’s kitty.

M Sharief Niaz
M Sharief Niaz

Apart from Bhaderwah, Congress has high chances of winning an Inderwal seat where G H Saroori has been working for a long time. Saroori’s work will be paid off, believes Imtiyaz, a local: “Saroori has a good reputation among people and has never ignored us.”

But keeping the summer polls in view, it seems Azad factor won’t work much! Azad fell to ‘Modi wave’ this summer. His defeat and BJP’s win was then attributed to the “communal polarization” which “exists in the region since decades”.

“We then [in parliamentary elections] wanted long term benefits,” says a Hindu voter, “so we voted for BJP.” And now in assembly elections, he says, “we would be more concerned about our local interests.”

For an upcoming poll, it is said that “local interests” would overpower the communal interests. Besides, a pre-poll analysis gives Congress two seats (Bhaderwah and Inderwal); NC three (Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban); and PDP one (Banihal).

In Banihal, PDP’s ‘bureaucrat card’ is likely to work. Bashir Ahmed Runiyal, a retired officer having

Abdul Majeed Wani
Abdul Majeed Wani

a “good service” record has maximum chances to bag votes in both urban and rural belts of Ramban.

In Kishtwar, NC’s Sajad Kitchloo will perhaps make it again to the assembly. Though, in the parliamentary elections “communal polarization” played a huge role, but now the political commentators opine: Kitchloo has an edge after PDP did a blunder for not considering its strongest candidate, Syed Asghar Ali for the seat.

Khalid Najib Suharwardy
Khalid Najib Suharwardy

Instead, PDP picked up a “weak” candidate which has given an edge to Kitchloo in an entire Muslim votes in the constituency. As for Hindu votes, it is believed they would get divided between Nek Ram (INC) and Sunil Kumar Sharma (BJP). This will ultimately mar BJP’s victory prospects.

Similarly in Ramban, Dr Chaman Lal of NC would take a clean sweep. Courtesy: BJP’s wrong decision!

BJP for last two years was promoting Girdari Lal as their candidate. The ground mood asserts Lal did a commendable job in winning their hearts but the party choose Neelam Kumar as its final contender. This pinched Girdari who in protest quit his job, but still couldn’t get the mandate.

“Girdari’s exit from BJP will definitely add to NC’s Chaman Lal’s vote bank,” says Hashmi.

Shakti Parihar
Shakti Parihar

In Doda (the hometown of Ghulam Nabi Azad), the fight is between the top three contenders: Abdul Majid Wani (INC), Shakti Parihar (BJP) and Khalid Najib Suharwardy (NC).

Wani is the sitting MLA; but people aren’t much happy with his work of last five years. “We must trust a local than an outsider,” says Ashok Kumar, a Sarpanch in Doda, “so I see Suharwardy winning.” But for some, Parihar is already a winner, as he has worked a “lot” to gain support for the party in Doda.

In past, BJP would never cross 5,000 votes in the area. But the last parliamentary win has boosted BJP morale to maximise their votes share from Ramban, Bhaderwah and Kishtwar. Meanwhile to avert summer crisis recurring in winter, Azad is using his ‘crisis-manager’ skills like never before.

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