All in the family: 8 political dynasts in fray in Jammu and Kashmir

Iltija, the daughter of former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, is making her poll debut from Bijbehara which has been the family stronghold since 1996.

From a father-son duo to children of senior politicians, the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir beginning this month will witness various new generation politicians trying their luck.

The National Conference (NC) has nominated at least six political scions while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has fielded a member of its “first family” to reclaim its stronghold.

Here are some such candidates.

Iltija Mufti (PDP candidate from Bijbehara)

Iltija, the daughter of former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, is making her poll debut from a seat which has been the family stronghold since 1996.  Her mother won the assembly segment in 1996 on a Congress ticket. Iltija will be in a direct contest with Bashir Ahmad Veeri of the National Conference.

Sajjad Shafi (NC candidate from Uri)

Shafi is a doctor and the son of Mohammad Shafi who has served as the state’s finance minister and MP.  Shaifi is said to have been actively involved in politics since the last decade and moves from one village to another in Uri, especially in those which are situated along the Line of Control.

Yawar Shafi Banday (PDP candidate from Shopian)

Yawar, who joined the PDP three years ago, is the grandson of two-time legislator Mohammad Majeed Banday from Shopian. Majeed Banday represented the seat as a Congress MLA in 1962 and as an Independent in 1972. Also, Yawar’s father Mohammad Shafi Banday unsuccessfully contested the Shopian seat in the 2008 Assembly polls on a Congress candidate.

Hilal Akbar Lone (NC candidate from Sonawari)

Hilal, an advocate, will make his poll debut from the Sonawari assembly segment. The seat was last represented by his father and former J&K Assembly Speaker, Mohammad Akbar Lone. According to reports, Hilal was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for his alleged provocative speech during the 2020 District Development Council (DDC) polls and spent a month in prison before being released on bail. He was also detained after the withdrawal of Article 370.

Mohammad Rafeeq Naik (PDP candidate from Tral)

Naik, the son of former minister and speaker of J&K assembly Ali Mohammad Naik joined the PDP recently. Naik was a government employee and retired this year, according to reports.

Salman Sagar (NC candidate for Hazratbal)

Salman is the son of party general secretary and former minister Ali Mohammad Sagar. The father will contest from the Khanyar constituency that he has been representing since 1996. Meanwhile,  Salman has been the corporator of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) for many years. Both the father and the son have been awarded tickets from Srinagar city.

Ahsan Pardesi (NC candidate for Lal Chowk)

Ahsan is the son of bureaucrat-turned-politician Ghulan Qadir Pardesi who has switched allegiances between the NC and PDP several times. Ahsan, who is NC’s vice-president for the Kashmir province, has been working in the Lal Chowk area for a long time.

Mian Mehar Ali (NC candidate from Kangan)

Mehar, who is fielded from the family bastion, is the son of senior NC leader and Srinagar MP Mian Altaf.  Altaf held the ST-reserved seat for four consecutive terms between 1987 and 2014. The Mian family, in fact, has never lost an election from Kangan, barring 1983, when a member was not in the race.

The polls for the 90 assembly seats of Jammu (43) and Kashmir (47) will be held in three phases, from September 18 to October 1. The counting of votes will be held on October 8. This will be the first assembly election since the dilution of Article 370 and the downgrading of the erstwhile state to Union territory (UT) status in August 2019.