Srinagar:

Aiming to win over the people of Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the Assembly elections, which begin in less than two weeks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opted to mix a political pitch with an emotional one while kicking off his party’s campaign in the Union Territory on Wednesday. 

As Jammu and Kashmir sees its first election in nearly 10 years as well as its first as a Union Territory after it was stripped of its special status under Article 370 in 2019, Mr Gandhi made the restoration of statehood the central plank of his addresses on Wednesday while also reminding people of the ties of blood he and his family share with them, going as far back as his great-grandfather and India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. 

Mr Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, also took a jibe at the J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha – and the BJP-led government at the Centre through him – by calling him a ‘raja‘ (king). 

The BJP, which will see its campaign begin on Friday with rallies being addressed by Home Minister Amit Shah, hit back and accused the Congress-National Conference alliance in the Union Territory of being supported by militants. 

‘Kings Removed’

Addressing a rally for the Congress candidate from Dooru, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, with National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, Mr Gandhi cited several decisions that had to be rolled back by the Centre and cited that as proof of the opposition INDIA alliance’s growing strength in the country. This strength, he told his audience, would ensure that Jammu and Kashmir would be granted statehood if the people voted the INDIA alliance into power in the Union Territory.

“In 1947, we removed the kings and formed a democratic government. We gave the country a Constitution. But a raja is ruling Jammu and Kashmir today. His name is LG (lieutenant governor), but he is a raja. Your money is being stolen and given to people from outside. Be that in the form of contracts or anything else… The first thing that needs to be done is restoring statehood to J&K because it wasn’t just your state that was snatched… Your rights, your wealth, all of it is being snatched,” Mr Gandhi said.

Personal Relationship

Addressing another rally in Anantnag, he spoke about the personal ties he has with the people of the state.

“You know that you and I have a blood relation. This is not a political relationship. Be it Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi or Jawaharlal Nehru, it is an old relationship. Whatever you want from me, my doors are always open for you. I want to serve you in Parliament. I will raise your issues, your pain and your sorrow. The country needs to know that this is the first time in India’s history that a state has become a Union Territory,” he said. 

Mr Gandhi also claimed that the BJP has used the Kashmiri Pandit issue for political reasons and has not helped the community. Using his oft-repeated ‘mohabbat ki dukaan‘ (shop of love) phrase, he asserted that the Congress will stand with the community and work for its welfare if the party forms a government in Jammu and Kashmir.    

‘Difficult Time’

The National Conference is the senior partner of the alliance in the UT, contesting 51 of 90 Assembly seats against the Congress’ 32 – with friendly fights in five constituencies – and party chief Farooq Abdullah said the coalition will be successful in the elections. 

“We are raising our voice. This is a slap on the face of people who called us Pakistanis, Khalistanis and whatnot. I hope that the people of India will understand that we want Jammu and Kashmir and its people to prosper after the difficult time they have been through. This is the first time a state has become a Union Territory. We need to change this, we want statehood, and that’s what we are working towards,” he said.

BJP Hits Back

Scoffing at the remarks by Mr Gandhi and Mr Abdullah, senior BJP leader Ram Madhav said the parties are being supported by militants. The BJP has consistently maintained that J&K has progressed after the removal of Article 370 and Mr Madhav claimed that the Congress, National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) want to push the Union Territory off the path of development. 

“I want to remind the people that the manifestoes released by the National Conference, PDP and others want to take J&K back to the old days and old problems. They are openly taking the support of militants to fight the elections. I am seeing that former militants are supporting, and campaigning for, National Conference and PDP candidates. We have to defeat such parties. Jammu and Kashmir will see a government being formed under the leadership of the BJP,” he said. 

Jammu and Kashmir will vote in three phases between September 18 and October 1. Counting will take place on October 8. 

Anantnag, Kashmir:

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will address two election rallies in Jammu and Kashmir on September 4 to campaign for the candidates of the NC-Congress alliance, a senior Congress leader said on Saturday.

AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir told PTI Videos here that it was the desire of the candidates of the alliance and the people of J&K in general to have Gandhi campaign in the Union territory.

“Rahulji will visit J&K on September 4 and will address election campaign rallies in Kashmir as well as Jammu for the alliance candidates,” he added.

Mir, who is contesting the assembly elections from Dooru in the south Kashmir district here, said Gandhi will address an election rally at the Dooru stadium.

He said Gandhi would address another rally likely in the Sangaldan area of Jammu.

“We are happy that he (Gandhi) accepted our invitation. This programme is for the first phase only. He might visit J&K again for the other phases,” Mir said.

The AICC general secretary said the Congress has lined up over 40-star campaigners, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

The BJP today released a list of 82 candidates for the three-phase election to 90 Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir will vote in three phases on September 19, 25 and October 1. Votes will be counted on October 4. This is the first Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir after the erstwhile state lost its special status in 2019 and was bifurcated into two Union Territories.

The list was released this morning after the BJP’s Central Election Committee finalised the party’s poll picks for the upcoming election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda were at the key meeting in Delhi yesterday.

The last Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir was held in 2014. In the 2014 election, the BJP had put up a stellar show by winning 25 seats. The PDP had emerged as the single largest party with 28 wins. The incumbent National Conference won 15 seats and the Congress bagged 12. Following the election, the BJP and the PDP forged a surprise alliance government, led by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and then by Mehbooba Mufti after the former’s death in 2016.

This time, Jammu and Kashmir is headed for a tripartite contest between the BJP, the PDP and the National Conference-Congress alliance. The Congress and National Conference, however, are yet to iron out differences in seat-sharing. Top Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Salman Khurshid have been rushed to Srinagar to clear the roadblocks in the negotiations between National Conference and the local Congress leadership.

Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah and announced their alliance.

Scoffing at the tie-up, BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh, who is in charge of the party’s Jammu and Kashmir campaign, said the Congress-National Conference alliance will collapse like a house of cards and will face a humiliating defeat.

In some of the key Kashmir seats, the BJP’s candidates are Er Syed Showkat Gayoor Andrabi (Pampore), Arshid Bhat (Rajpora), Javed Ahmad Qadri (Shopian) and Mohd Rafiq Wani (Anantnag West). Others include Syed Wazahat from Anantnag, Sofi Yousuf from Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Veer Saraf from Shangus-Anantnag East and Tariq Keen from Inderwal.