Why J&K rejected jailed candidates, ex-militants and separatists: 'We couldn't win because ...'

Engineer Rashid, who defeated Omar Abdullah in Lok Sabha polls, failed to make a mark in the assembly elections

In June this year, Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chairman Engineer Rashid made headlines by winning the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat from Delhi's Tihar Jail, an unprecedented feat that inspired several jailed candidates, including Jamaat-e-Islami members and separatist leaders, to contest the assembly elections.

However, despite their efforts to replicate Rashid’s success, these candidates faced significant defeats, losing all the seats in the assembly elections held in Jammu and Kashmir after a decade-long gap.

Read: Winners and losers of Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir elections

In a three-phase assembly election in J&K, held after the abrogation of the region's special status under Article 370 and statehood in August 2019, five former militants, four jailed separatist leaders, and ten candidates from the banned Jamaat-e-Islami faced humiliating defeats.

This time the mood of the voters in the Valley was towards the National Conference which bagged 42 seats while BJP won 29 seats in Jammu.

The election results reveal that Jamaat, which previously endorsed election boycott calls and ultimately re-entered the political mainstream after 1987, could not secure a single seat.

Its much-hyped Kulgam candidate, Sayar Ahmad Reshi, who promised a women’s gym centre in his manifesto, received just 25,796 votes, losing to CPM candidate Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, who secured 33,634 votes.

Read: 7 big takeaways from J&K assembly election results

Reshi told Moneycontrol that although the Jamaat did not win any seats in the Valley, it has managed to shed its image as anti-democratic and anti-national. “We could not win due to the strong NC-Congress alliance, but we have certainly removed various labels, and we will continue to contest elections in the future.”

During the elections, when Moneycontrol spoke to voters at various polling booths across Kashmir, many expressed reluctance to support Jamaat-backed candidates. For example, in south Kashmir’s Pulwama, both young and old voters voiced opposition to Jamaat’s return to electoral politics, terming its decision to contest polls as a nexus with the central government aimed at securing the outfit’s own freedom and survival.

After losing the elections, the Jamaat is cornered, facing a ban while its electoral failure has yielded no advantages for the party, according to critics in the Valley.

Usman Majid, a former militant turned pro-government counter-insurgency militia member and two-time MLA from Bandipora, could not secure his seat, losing to Congress candidate Nizam-ud-din Bhat by a margin of 811 votes.

Political observers say that in the Valley, where there was a strong desire to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at bay, people were skeptical of individuals and groups making a U-turn to contest elections.

They added that voters in Kashmir were worried that Jamaat-backed candidates, former militants, jailed candidates, and separatists were compelled by the central government and security agencies to participate in the elections, raising concerns that they might switch allegiance to the BJP if elected.

Despite 17-year-old Sugra Barakati's emotional campaigning for her incarcerated father, Sarjan Ahmad Wagay—popularly known as Sarjan Barakati—his bid for victory fell short. Barakati, who is currently imprisoned alongside his wife, did not win in the Ganderbal and Beerwah constituencies. Sugra made heartfelt appeals to voters, urging them to support her father, known as “Freedom Chacha” and the “Pied Piper of Kashmir,” in the hope that his victory would lead to his release from jail.

In the Beerwah constituency, Barakati, who rose to prominence during the 2016 protests in South Kashmir after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani—which triggered widespread unrest and resulted in 90 civilian deaths—received 12,282 votes but lost by 7,836 votes to NC candidate Shafi Wani, who won with 20,118 votes. In the Ganderbal constituency, Barakati, arrested for unlawful activities and militant financing, managed only 438 votes, while former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah achieved a landslide victory with 32,727 votes, effectively ending Barakati’s prospects.

Even the ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) option in the elections surpassed 412 candidates, including Barakati, according to data from the Election Commission of India’s website.

After her father lost the election, Sugra asked people why they rallied around her campaign, offering their support despite being unable to vote for Barakati.

In north Kashmir’s Sopore, Shuiab Mohammad Sheikh, who was also contesting the elections from jail, faced a significant defeat, managing only 469 votes and losing to NC’s Irshad Kar by 26,506 votes. Sheikh was arrested in 2021 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly serving as an overground worker (OGW) for the Al-Badr militant outfit.

Dr. Siddiq Wahid, a professor of Central Eurasian History at Shiv Nadar University, told Moneycontrol that mature voters chose not to waste their votes and instead predominantly supported a regional party to avoid a fractured mandate that could lead to a hung assembly or allow the BJP to form the government with independent candidates.

Last month, Engineer Rashid’s release on interim bail after five years attracted massive crowds in his rallies and even caused worry to his regional opponents, who had termed him a “proxy” of BJP but Rashid’s AIP could only win one seat from Langate, its bastion.

Rashid, whose release just before the elections raised suspicions about a possible compromise with the BJP in New Delhi, failed to translate the large crowds at his rallies into actual votes.

However, Rashid had asserted that there was nothing suspicious about his release, stating that he was granted bail for the elections, similar to Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi.

According to Professor Wahid, Rashid’s lack of impact in the assembly elections stemmed from the timing of his release, which raised suspicions about his ties to the BJP. For example, he said many people in the Valley questioned how Rashid was granted bail while hundreds of others facing charges similar to UAPA, or less even, continue to be incarcerated without trial.