With the July 1 deadline for filing nominations for the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections coming to an end, the banned socio-political organisation Jamaat-e-Islami seems to have firmed up its plan to support at least three of its former members as Independent candidates. The first phase is scheduled for September 18.
Jamaat-e-Islami had planned to field seven candidates as Independents in South Kashmir but three of them relented at the last moment. Jamaat has now managed three candidates and is still in discussions over a possible four.
One of the finalised contestants is Dr. Talat Majeed, who will be contesting from Pulwama. Prior to becoming a registered member of Jamaat-e-Islami, Majeed was a well-known social figure of Pulwama. Under the circumstances, his joining mainstream politics this year by combining with Altaf Bukhari’s Apni Party has, in fact, taken many by surprise, as he was the first Jamaat leader to jump ship.
Another contestant, Sayar Ahmad Reshi, is all geared up to contest from Kulgam. Reshi, an assistant director at the Jamaat-run Falah-e-Aam Trust (FAT), is still fresh from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raid at his house earlier this year in connection with an alleged Jamaat terror funding case. But Reshi, a resident of Kulgam, above, has already contested the recent Lok Sabha elections and is considered a major player in the organisation’s electoral gameplan.
The third candidate is Mohammad Sidiq, a relatively lesser-known candidate, who will contest from the Devsar Assembly seat. The name of a possible fourth candidate for the Zainpora Assembly constituency in Shopian is being discussed, although as per the latest reports, there still exist some ifs and buts of his participation.
Jamaat-e-Islami had planned to contest the elections by fielding seven candidates in the first phase, but with the decisions of withdrawal from the fields in Bijbehara, Shopian, and Anantnag, it indicates internal differences of opinion in the organisation. With an estimated 20,000 conventional cadres of the party, who are presumably up in arms setting the J&K agenda for plebiscite, it will seem to be an inner party reluctance to contest at the ground level.
In July, there came reports of Jamaat-e-Islami willing to contest the Assembly elections after a number of rounds of talks with the central government with Vishwaiz preferring Altaf Bukhari for these negotiations. The outfit had challenged the ban under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, since February 2019. In turn, the central government had asked the group to first contest in the recent Lok Sabha polls, leading to many Jamaat leaders exercising their franchise.
The Jamaat-e-Islami, to steer through these political currents, constituted an 8-member committee, authorised to conduct, on behalf of the Advisory Council of the banned outfit, parleys with the central government. Its members include top-ranking Jamaat leaders like Dr. Hameed Fayaz, who was at the helm of the organisation when it was banned, and Faheem Ramzan.
The Jamaat now intends to field 10-12 candidates as Independents across the Valley in the three-phase Assembly elections. The organization is interested in re-establishing that political control in the region despite the ban.
