Jammu And Kashmir Elections: Several Jailed Leaders And Those with Separatist Links Looking to Contest

Several former separatist leaders are either joining mainstream political parties or planning to file independent nominations to contest the three-phase assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir beginning on September 18. The second and third rounds will be held on September 25 and October 1. The votes for all 90 seats will be counted on October 8.

A vocal separatist leader, Syed Saleem Geelani recently joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Geelani headed the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Party (JKPP), one of the constituents of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Geelani had rebelled against Mirwaiz in 2015 for allegedly violating the Hurriyat’s constitution by engaging in what he termed as “secret talks with New Delhi”.

Advocate Javid Hubbi, son of former Hurriyat leader Ghulam Mohammad Hubbi, is contesting for the Charar-e-Sharief seat as a candidate of jailed Engineer Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party (AIP).

Ghulam Muhammad Hubbi had unsuccessfully contested the assembly elections in 1987 and joined separatist ranks.

The PDP has fielded Aga Muntazir Mehdi as a candidate for the Budgam seat. He is the son of former Hurriyat executive member Aga Syed Hassan. Muntazir is the cousin of National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah.

In the fray as an AIP candidate for the Rajpora constituency is Altaf Ahmad Bhat, a social worker from the Pulwama district. He is the brother of jailed leader Bashir Ahmad Bhat, popularly known as Peer Saifullah, a close aide of Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

Contesting from the Langate constituency is the Jamaat-e-Islami-backed independent candidate Dr Kaleemullah. He is the son of the outfit’s former general secretary Ghulam Qadir Lone.

Munir Khan, the brother of jailed Hurriyat leader and chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Nationalist People’s Front, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, is also planning to contest the assembly election. He unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary polls this year.

Jailed cleric Sarjan Barkati, who is lodged in Tihar jail, is contesting the assembly polls against National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah.