Why banned Jamaat-e-Islami made a comeback in J&K elections after 37 years

The Jamaat’s return to electoral politics has sparked mixed reactions in the Valley.

Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir’s decision to participate in the ongoing assembly elections, after over three decades of abstaining, has caught many in the region by surprise and raised questions about the outfit’s strategic shift.

After the Election Commission of India announced the long-awaited assembly elections in J&K in August, ten independent candidates submitted nomination papers to contest the polls with support from a select panel of the proscribed Jamaat.

This is the first time since the 1987 assembly elections that Jamaat, a banned religious-political organisation with around 5,000 members, has shown interest in J&K’s electoral politics, signalling a major shift from its longstanding opposition to elections and support for separatist boycott calls.

In February 2019, two weeks after the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 paramilitary troopers, the central government banned Jamaat over allegations of terrorism and anti-India propaganda. The crackdown led to the imprisonment of several leaders, including Jamaat chief Abdul Hameed Fayaz and spokesperson Zahid Ali.

The Jamaat’s return to electoral politics has sparked mixed reactions in the Valley. Many people doubt that elected candidates will drive meaningful change, viewing the outfit’s participation as primarily a means to secure their own freedom and survival.

Riyaz Ahmad, a government employee in uptown Srinagar, expressed surprise at Jamaat’s changed stance on participating in elections. “For years, Jamaat members have kept people away from voting, and now they have entered the fray themselves. If Jamaat had no problem with elections, why did they discourage people from voting for such a long time. While I understand the challenges they might have faced since the 2019 ban, the U-turn could damage their credibility in the long run,” Ahmad told Moneycontrol.

A senior journalist with more than two decades of experience covering Kashmir told Moneycontrol that the members of Jamaat’s advisory council are in jail, emphasising that the decision to contest elections should ideally have originated from them.

Even former Chief Minister and National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah criticised Jamaat’s U-turn. “An organisation that spent over 30 years telling the people of Kashmir that elections are haram (forbidden) and urging them not to participate is now doing the opposite,” Omar told reporters in Srinagar. “The same group that claimed J&K was not part of India is now willing to take the oath on the Indian Constitution, just like mainstream political parties. This is a significant development. Let’s see what unfolds.”

A former Jamaat member, now a teacher in Srinagar, acknowledged that the decision to participate in elections could backfire for the organisation. “The sudden shift to contest polls could indeed lead to a loss of public credibility, jeopardising Jamaat’s social and political future in Kashmir. However, we must also consider the changing geopolitical landscape. For example, the Kashmir issue has lost relevance and is now largely confined to the territory of J&K. Beyond Lakhanpur, the gateway to J&K, you rarely hear about Kashmir these days, especially with the more pressing and complex Palestine issue dominating global discussions.”

A Srinagar-based local news agency, reported potential fissures in Jamaat regarding its participation in elections. “A significant faction within the party strongly opposes any electoral involvement and bypasses the Shura (consultative council), which traditionally addresses such key decisions. The leadership's push for electoral participation without proper consultation is undemocratic and a betrayal of Jamaat’s core values.”

Even in a rare interview with The Telegraph, 88-year-old Sheikh Ghulam Hassan, the former chief of Jamaat, rejected the panel’s decision to contest elections, stating, “Jamaat is a banned organisation. Its decision to participate in elections should not have been made.”

Despite backlash, Jamaat held a large election rally in Bugam, Kulgam district, earlier this month—its first in over five years—after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government’s revocation of Article 370, the special status and the reorganisation of J&K into two Union Territories—J&K and Ladakh.

Jamaat’s participation in the elections nearly after 40 years also revitalised voter turnout, particularly in south Kashmir areas that had previously seen negligible participation due to poll boycotts.

Despite the ban on direct participation, Jamaat, an offshoot of Jamaat-e-Islami—established in Lahore in 1941 by theologian Maulana Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who believed Islam was central to politics—mobilised support through indirect means in Kulgam.

The streets were filled with enthusiastic supporters, reflecting a renewed interest in the party’s activities. However, in the rest of the Valley, enthusiasm was lacking, with many people rallying behind regional parties such as the NC, Peoples Democratic Party, and Engineer Rashid's Awami Ittihad Party (AIP).

After the Congress-NC pre-poll alliance, Jamaat, founded in 1942 by Maulana Saad-u-Din, announced a new alliance in south Kashmir with the AIP, led by maverick Member of Parliament Engineer Rashid, who was recently released from Delhi’s Tihar Jail after five years.

Many in the Valley believe that the AIP-Jamaat alliance could siphon votes from established regional parties like the NC and PDP, potentially resulting in a fragmented election outcome. With elections taking place after a decade, the scenario according to people could pave the way for the BJP, which already enjoys a strong lead in Jammu, to seize power in the region.

“Engineer Rashid’s release before the assembly elections, along with the government allowing the banned Jamaat to participate and their new alliance, seems to be a strategy the BJP is employing in J&K. We should avoid voting for parties that arouse suspicion,” says Asiya, a young woman from north Kashmir’s Baramulla.

According to Noor Ahmad Baba, a political analyst and former political science professor at the University of Kashmir, Jamaat's decision to contest elections appears to be an attempt at political rehabilitation. “Jamaat’s reentry into elections is not surprising given the difficult transitions it has faced since 2019. By participating, Jamaat aims to project a new image, signalling to the government and security establishment that it is part of the mainstream,” Baba told Moneycontrol.

After 2019, Jamaat cadres were detained and placed in various jails across the country, while the J&K government attached around 80 of the organisation’s properties.

Before 2024, Jamaat, separated from Jamaat-e-Islami Hind in 1953 was active in electoral politics in the erstwhile state from 1965 to 1987, serving as the primary opposition to the dominant NC. The organisation last contested the 1987 assembly elections under the Muslim United Front (MUF) banner, which many perceived as rigged. These rigged elections are widely believed to have contributed to the rise of militancy in the region.

With the rise of militancy in the 1990s, some Jamaat members joined armed groups, leading to associations with the pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen, though Jamaat never officially recognised any ties.

With violence declining in the late 1990s, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, the then-chief of Jamaat, declared that the outfit would step back from the Kashmir dispute. This decision led to internal divisions, resulting in the suspension of prominent members like Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Peer Hisamuddin and Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai, who established the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, a separatist political party, in 2004.

Jamaat shifted its focus to socio-religious activities, steering clear of direct political engagement while facing scrutiny from the security establishment for its support of Hizbul. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, several Jamaat members showed a willingness to participate in polls and voted, hoping for a favourable outcome in a tribunal reviewing the ban. However, on August 23, the tribunal upheld the government’s decision.

While the ban remains in place and shows no signs of being lifted soon, several Jamaat members and supporters have not only cast their votes in the ongoing elections but are also contesting from north to south.

Kalimullah Lone, the Jamaat-backed candidate from Langate, Engineer Rashid’s home constituency, told Moneycontrol that after the rigged elections of 1987, many Jamaat leaders and supporters advocated for electoral participation, but consensus was lacking. “In 2010, I discussed the idea of contesting elections with my father, Ghulam Qadir Lone, a senior Jamaat member and general secretary of the newly appointed five-member panel that has held multiple talks with New Delhi, but many were unconvinced. We never called for a boycott of elections, our calls for a boycott were directed at Jamaat members to preserve our vote bank and strengthen our cadre.”

Lone, who holds a PhD in computer science from the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, asserted that Jamaat would have even contested on around 50 seats had the government lifted ban on it.“If Jamaat-backed candidates are elected, they will focus on youth employment, societal development, combating drug abuse, advocating for the release of those unjustly imprisoned, and addressing crime.

However, according to Baba, despite having a strong cadre, Jamaat is unlikely to succeed in electoral politics in J&K.