Valley cold to Jamaat, none of its 10 Independents makes the cut
The banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI-JK), which fielded its 10 Independent candidates in the Assembly elections, failed to open its account across the Kashmir region.
Sayar Ahmad Reshi was the face of the Jamaat-e-Islami in South Kashmir’s Kulgam district. He was contesting against CPM veteran Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami, who held the seat since 1996.
Reshi, who managed to draw crowds during his campaigning, lost the elections to Tarigami with a margin of 7,900 votes. Reshi polled 25,796 votes in the Assembly elections, the results of which were declared today. In South Kashmir’s Zainapora, former PDP leader Aijaz Ahmad Mir, who was backed by Jamaat and was contesting as an Independent, bagged 15,018 votes and stood second.
Talat Majid, another Jamaat-backed candidate, who was fielded from Pulwama, bagged 1,833 votes. Mohammad Sikandar Malik, who contested from the Bandipore seat, bagged only 2,411 votes, while Farooq Ahmad Genie polled 3,970 votes from the Beerwah seat.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections in J&K, Jamaat-e-Islami leaders came forward to cast their vote for the first time since 1987. Back then, the outfit had contested the elections under the banner of the Muslim United Front (MUF), a conglomerate of political parties, social groups and individuals. After the allegations of rigging, the cadre-base outfit had decided to stay away from elections. The Jamaat then announced that it would field its several Independent candidates in the three-phased polls.
When asked about the poor performance of candidates, Shameem Ahmad Thoker, chief election in-charge of the banned Jamaat, told The Tribune that they failed to motivate its cadres as a ban was still in place on Jamaat. “The opponents created an environment of fear for our candidates,” he said.
He, however, said at a time when veteran leaders and traditional parties lost the elections, it was an achievement to get a good chunk of votes. “We stood second at two places. Thought our candidate couldn’t win, our performance was good,” he said. “You see what has happened to parties like PDP. See their performance. We still managed to get a good chunk of votes.”
Reshi loses in Kulgam
- Sayar Ahmad Reshi, who managed to draw huge crowds during campaigning, lost to Tarigami with a margin of 7,900 votes
- In south Kashmir’s Zainapora, former PDP leader Aijaz Ahmad Mir, who was backed by Jamaat and was contesting as an Independent, bagged 15,018 votes and stood second
- Talat Majid, another Jamaat-backed candidate, who was fielded from Pulwama, bagged 1,833 votes
