Poonch: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said his party would not remain silent about the alleged onslaught of the BJP on the opposition parties in pursuit of its goal of “making India a BJP Rashtra”.
The former chief minister said the gloomy faces of the people speaks about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, where thousands of youths have been jailed and an atmosphere of fear has been created.
“I want to ask all political parties in the country to wake up as what happened to J&K (after 2019) is finally reaching their necks.
You preferred to remain silent or speak in a half-hearted manner but we will not remain silent and will fight not only for ourselves but for you as well,” Mehbooba said addressing a public meeting in the border district of Poonch.
The PDP leader, who is currently on a three-day tour of Pir Panjal region, said she was warning that BJP has turned J&K into a laboratory to experiment its policies before their implementation in other parts of the country.
“The opposition parties in the country did not understand what was happening to us. Today when the BJP is trampling democracy by jailing opposition leaders with the help of the Enforcement Directorate and CBI, they have started feeling the heat,” she later told reporters.
She said the abrogation of Article 370 was unconstitutional but majority of the leaders stayed silent. “I am of firm belief that we will get back Article 370 with interest. They will come and ask what else you want.”
Referring to the slapping of Public Safety Act (PSA) on political leaders including her and two other former chief ministers, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba said J&K was turned into a jail and an atmosphere of fear was created to silence the people.
Mehbooba said they are not in favour of making India a “Hindu Rashtra” but their policies are aimed at making it a “BJP Rashtra” where everyone who aligns with them will be welcomed.
She also opposed the property tax and hiring of a previously black listed company by the J-K administration to fill vacancies in different government departments and said the youth are the worst sufferers of the policies of the administration.
The PDP chief said from Lt Governor to bureaucrats, everyone has been brought from outside and they (BJP) are claiming to install a chief minister from Jammu.
“Had they been serious, they would have installed a Lt Governor from Jammu or at least one of his advisors but they only believe in hoodwinking the public to get votes,” she said.
But not long after Durr donned a suit and entered the Statehouse in Trenton, the TV cameras stopped following him. He soon faced the reality of his situation: He’s a backbencher in a minority party — someone with little clout and, on top of that, someone who Democrats want to work against.
Durr now finds himself facing rivals within his own party who believe his election was a fluke, who fault him for politically-damaging social media posts that emerged after his surprise victory and who believe he’s wasted a year by focusing on culture war issues that have already proven to hurt Republicans in the post-Roe era.
In terms of making laws, he’s accomplished little to nothing. And Democrats, of course, are plotting to take him down.
“There are going to be certain bills of mine they’re never going to touch because they’re too conservative,” Durr, 60, acknowledged in a phone interview. “I’ve had bills that even Democrats will probably appreciate, but they won’t move them because it’s Ed Durr.”
Since taking office, Durr has been among the top sponsors of 167 pieces of legislation — the 10th most of the state’s 40 senators. None have been signed into law, ranking him in a tie for dead last among senators who have served since the beginning of the term.
Durr has introduced many bills that reflect right-wing causes and have near zero chance of passage. They include several measures that would severely restrict abortion access; ease New Jersey’ strict firearm carry and permitting restrictions; repeal vaccine requirements; punish educators and school districts that teach critical race theory; and a bill that would ban teaching younger students about gender identity and sexual orientation that critics called the New Jersey version of the Florida law activists have labeled “Don’t Say Gay.”
“I didn’t have any expectations. I just knew that I wanted to get in there and be a voice for my constituents,” Durr said. “And I think I have, to be quite honest with you.”
Democrats eye a comeback as Durr, GOP feud
Democrats are working to oust Durr this year. Sweeney, who is considering running for governor in 2025, had been mulling whether to challenge Durr in November but reportedly will stay out of the Senate race and his old district running mate, former Assemblymember John Burzichelli, will run instead.
As such, Durr said that he’s even gotten shunned by Democrats on his more policy-focused bills, like a measure inspired by Billy Cray, a developmentally-disabled man who died in his group home. The bill, which would allow adult group homes to give residents the choice to have electronic monitoring devices in common areas and private rooms, had been sponsored by state Sen. Fred Madden, another South Jersey Democrat, before Durr entered office.
Durr said he asked Madden to again sign onto that bill, “and he chose not to.” The Democratic chair of the state Senate Health Committee, Joe Vitale, has refused to advance it as well, Durr said.
“You tell me why he won’t. He’ll give you a lame excuse, but it’s clearly me,” he said.
Vitale said he’s not blocking the bill because of Durr.
“I told him to do the hard work. There are likely as many individuals and organizations in favor and as many opposed,” Vitale said. “I’ve asked him to do the hard work and reach out to those who don’t support the bill, work with them on potential language changes and let me know how he wants to proceed.”
Madden also cited advocates’ opposition to the measure as the reason he chose not to sign on again, saying he’d rather stay off the bill until those issues are resolved.
“That’s it,” Madden said. “Here we are a year later, and you’re telling me he’s claiming I won’t go on a bill because I was told not to do something? It’s just bizarre.”
Burzichelli, who lost in 2021 to Durr’s Assembly running mates, said Durr has not reached out to the right people to be an effective senator.
“Clearly the people who took our place have been ineffective at building relationships, ineffective at delivering anything of significance for the legislative district. And there’s no indication it will get better,” Burzichelli said.
Burzichelli, who was chair of the influential Appropriations Committee, said he and his defeated district-mates had lined up somewhere around $1 billion in programs that were to “find their way to the district” but “that momentum stopped” with Durr’s swearing-in.
“I’m not aware of anything they’ve gotten done,” Burzichelli said. “That’s not a harsh statement about personalities. It’s just a fact like a report card.”
Meanwhile, Durr and one of his two former running mates, Assemblymember Beth Sawyer, have spent much of the last year feuding. Now, Sawyer is expected to run for Assembly in the Republican primary on a slate opposite Durr’s, headed up by Salem County Commissioner Mickey Ostrum. (Sawyer did not respond to a call seeking comment and Ostrum said he would hold off commenting pending a formal announcement).
But Adam Wingate, a Republican candidate for Gloucester County commissioner in 2022, blamed Durr in part for his loss — noting Democrats tried to link him to Durr’s social media posts, including one 2020 Facebook post in which Durr said, “A woman does have a choice! Keep her legs closed.”
“Ed’s been polarizing since day one,” Wingate said. “Just his social media presence and the way he carries himself.”
Nevertheless, Durr has managed to secure Republican Party backing in two of his district’s three counties, which makes him the favorite for reelection.
Durr’s brief national fame never translated to fundraising prowess, however. In the last three months of 2022, his campaign reported raising just $1,800, and he began the new year with about $35,500 in the bank. Should Burzichelli run, he’d likely be able to count on the help of multi million-dollar super PAC unofficially controlled by South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross.
Durr said he’s worked hard on constituent services in the district, telling POLITICO his office has fielded calls from constituents to help navigate the bureaucracy of the Motor Vehicles Commission and Unemployment Insurance fund, both of which have had major customer service issues since the pandemic.
“When I’m out and about throughout the district, just to have someone come up and say how good they feel that somebody’s actually listening to them and paying attention,” Durr said.
And Durr said the district was still plagued with problems after 20 years of Democratic representation, like one town where the only place to buy food is a dollar store.
“There are issues throughout the district that were not addressed when Sweeney was Senate president and Burzichelli was Appropriations chair,” Durr said. “To complain about our ineffectiveness given that we’ve only been in one year and are the minority seems laughable for the lack of progress they made for the 20 years they were in office.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Delhi: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC and Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha on Thursday said that a hunger strike will be held in the national capital on March 10 and that 18 political parties have said that they will participate in the protest launched to seek the introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the current session of Parliament.
The BRS leader also said that she will face Enforcement Directorate as she has not done anything wrong.
Addressing a press conference here Kavitha, who received summons from the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in the Delhi excise police case said that if a woman has to be interrogated by a central agency, then as per law, she has a “fundamental right” to be questioned at her home.
“We released a poster on March 2 about the hunger strike in Delhi over the Women’s Reservation Bill. 18 parties confirmed their participation…ED summoned me on March 9. I requested for March 16 but don’t know what haste they’re in, so I agreed for March 11.”
“When an agency wants to interrogate a woman, she has a fundamental right that it be done at her home,” she stated.
“So, I requested ED that they can come to my house on 11th March to investigate but they said that I will have to come to them,” the BRS leader said.
Kavitha arrived in Delhi today and said that she will be appearing before the Enforcement Directorate on March 11.
In a series of tweets, BRS MLS had hit out, alleging that certain political motives have been masquerading in the name of investigation.
“As a law-abiding citizen, I’ll fully cooperate with investigating agencies. I will appear at your good offices on March 11,” she had said in a statement.
“…I have been summoned by ED to appear on March 9th in Delhi. However, due to the Dharna and prefixed appointments, I’ll see legal opinions on the date of attending it,” BRS MLC K Kavitha had stated.
“I fail to understand as to why I have been summoned at such short notice. It seems that certain political motives have been masquerading in the name of investigation. I categorically say that I have nothing to do with the present investigation,” she had said in a subsequent tweet.
“Being a social worker and having prior commitments, I had already planned my schedule for the upcoming week & the abrupt rejection of my request seems to be motivated by reasons best known to you, which demonstrates that it is nothing but political victimisation,” she had tweeted.
On March 8, the BRS came down heavily on the Centre after the ED summoned Kavitha in connection with its ongoing probe of the Delhi excise policy case, saying that the central probe agencies have become an extended arm of the BJP.
Referring to the summons as “politically motivated”, BRS leader Ravula Sridhar Reddy had said that except ED and BJP, nobody really understands the case registered in connection with the new-withdrawn new Delhi excise policy.
Etawah: Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati expressed disquiet Tuesday over recent police encounters in Uttar Pradesh, with Yadav saying that one of the sons of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed might also be gunned down soon.
Two men allegedly linked to the murder of Umesh Pal, the key witness in the 2005 murder case of former BSP MLA Raju Pal, have been killed in two police encounters in the last 10 days.
Umesh Pal and his police security guards Sandeep Nishad and Raghvendra Singh were shot dead on February 24 outside his home in Prayagraj’s Dhoomanganj.
Based on a complaint lodged by Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal, a case was registered at Dhoomanganj police station against Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Ghulam, and nine others.
Speaking to reporters in Etawah’s Saifai, Yadav claimed, “There is pressure on the police from the top to kill whoever they find. Whoever gets caught will be killed. Both sons of Atiq Ahmed were caught by the police on the very first day. One of them will be killed in the coming days… You all will see.”
“When our Constitution gives a man the fundamental right to live, then you cannot take someone’s life. There is no other way than the legal way. Those who carry out fake encounters are booked for murder,” he said.
Two other accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, Arbaaz and Vijay Chowdhary alias Usman, were killed in encounters with the police on February 27 and March 6 respectively.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati asked if the Uttar Pradesh government will follow the rule of law or eliminate criminals on the streets.
Without directly mentioning the encounters, Mayawati said, “The police action which has come before the public following the killing of Umesh Pal in Prayagraj has raised suspicion among people if the government will conduct another ‘Vikas Dubey episode’ to cover up its failures.”
Vikas Dubey, a Kanpur gangster, was shot dead in an encounter in 2020.
In another tweet in Hindi, the BSP chief said, “The UP government is under a lot of tension and pressure, especially regarding the law and order situation after the murder of Umesh Pal, the witness in the Raju Pal murder case.”
But the entire country is watching if the government will follow the rule of law to control crime or punish the criminals by eliminating them on the streets, she added.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, however, said the police action in the Umesh Pal murder case is praiseworthy and it is wrong to raise questions over it.
“The statement given by Professor Ram Gopal Yadav ji in favour of the murderers of Umesh Pal and the security personnel is an irresponsible one. The SP’s real character is to give patronage to criminals and increase their confidence.
“This is the beginning of the dirty politics of Muslim appeasement. The action taken by the police in this case is praiseworthy and it is wrong to raise questions over it,” the deputy chief minister said in a tweet in Hindi.
On Monday, Ahmed’s family held a press conference in Prayagraj and expressed apprehension that he, his brothers and sons would be killed in a fake encounter by the police and requested Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for help.
There are reports that Ahmed, who is currently lodged in a Gujarat jail, will be brought to Uttar Pradesh for the investigation into the Umesh Pal murder case.
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday slammed the Congress for not standing by it on the issue of Manish Sisodia’s arrest, and alleged that both the grand old party and the BJP want all other political parties to cease to exist.
The Congress never stands by the Opposition and engages in a war of words with the BJP merely to “fool” the country, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj charged at a press conference.
Bharadwaj was replying to a question whether the Congress not joining the leaders of the nine opposition parties in writing a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the alleged misuse of central agencies was an indication that the grand old party and the AAP would never be together under a united opposition umbrella.
“If you look at the history, you will find the Congress has never stood by the Opposition. Whenever it comes to raising voice on national issues, the Congress goes missing. They have gone missing today as well,” Bharadwaj charged.
“The entire world knows that Sisosdia has been arrested. Congress, which considers itself the big brother and says it will lead if any opposition alliance is formed, should have reached out to the opposition parties,” he said.
“Where is the Congress, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi?” he asked, alleging that all of them have gone missing because they are happy with what’s happening in the country and with the AAP leaders.
Bharadwaj said the Congress is silent on the issue of alleged misuse of the central probe agencies and the arrest of the AAP leaders because both the grand old party and the BJP “want all opposition parties to cease to exist.”
“So that just the BJP and the Congress remain there,” he charged.
The AAP leader claimed that the opposition parties wanted to corner the BJP during the first part of the Budget Session on the alleged stock manipulation by the Adani group but the Congress gave the ruling party “a kind of safe passage” and let Parliament function by “breaking the opposition unity” on the issue.
“For almost one decade, the BJP has been talking about sending Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to jail. The BJP has been saying that they will send Robert Vadra also to jail. But nothing happened so far,” he said.
“Both the Congress and the BJP are engaged in a war of words just to fool the country,” the AAP spokesperson charged, adding “it’s just an enmity of convenience”.
Leaders of nine opposition parties, including Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, have written a joint letter to Prime Minister Modi alleging “blatant misuse” of central agencies against the members of the opposition.
The signatories of the letter are Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Bannerjee, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), Sharad Pawar (NCP), Farooq Abdullah (Jammu & Kashmir National Conference), Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena, UBT) and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party.
“The blatant misuse of central agencies against the members of the opposition appears to suggest that we have transitioned from being a democracy to an autocracy. The misuse of central agencies and constitutional offices like that of the governor to settle scores outside of the electoral battlefield is strongly condemnable as it does not bode well for our democracy,” the letter read.
Highlighting Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s arrest by the CBI in connection with the irregularities in the liquor policy, the leaders said the charges against the AAP leader were outright baseless and smack of a political conspiracy.
“His arrest has enraged people across the country. Sisodia is recognised globally for transforming Delhi’s school education. His arrest will be cited worldwide as an example of a political witch-hunt and further confirm what the world was only suspecting – that India’s democratic values stand threatened under an authoritarian BJP regime,” they alleged.
Hyderabad: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Spokesperson NV Subhash on Friday said that BJP is the only alternative to all the parties in Telangana.
Subhash reacted to Akbaruddin Owaisi’s statement that AIMIM will defeat BJP in the upcoming Telangana elections. Speaking to ANI, He said, “I would advise Akbaruddin Owaisi and Asaduddin Owaisi to read today’s newspaper.
Yesterday, they should have watched the TV and known that the BJP has won with a thumping majority in the northeastern states where there are minorities. Many people in these places have supported BJP and the party has come into power.”
“As far as Telangana is concerned, BJP is the only alternative to all the parties in Telangana. AIMIM has friendly contested with TDP, Congress and also BRS,” he added.
“If they really have the guts and the support from the people of Telangana, they should contest at least 50 assembly seats in Telangana,” he further added.
He stated, “We challenge them that they should come to the people and the battleground and then convince the people that AIMIM is a secular party.”
“We demand that you should definitely contest and field at least 50 candidates in the upcoming 2023 assembly elections, as you have told in the public meeting so that people and also they (AIMIM) will know who is going to win,” he further stated
Srinagar: Sanjay Sharma, 40, a bank security guard by profession who was killed in a militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district was on his way to a local market, police said.
Sanjay Sharma was shot in the chest at point blank range in the Achan area of Pulwama on Sunday morning.He was quickly taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Condemnations of the killing poured in from all the sections of society. Cutting across the party lines , political parties unequivocally condemned the killing.
The Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha,strongly condemned the killing of Kashmiri Pandit in Pulwama saying the administration has given a free hand to security forces to deal with the killers. He said the administration is standing strong with the breaved family.
“My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. The administration has given a free hand to the security forces to deal with the terrorists and we will continue to combat such acts of terrorism firmly and decisively,” he said.
A few hours after the incident, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah took to his twitter and wrote that he was deeply saddened to hear about the demise of Sanjay Pandith.
“Deeply saddened to hear of the demise of Sanjay Pandith of Achan in Pulwama district of South Kashmir. Sanjay was working as a bank security guard and was killed in a militant attack earlier today. I unequivocally condemn this attack and send my condolences to his loved ones,” tweeted Omar.
Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti lashed out at BJP for its “failure to protect minorities” in J&K and accused BJP of using these types of incidents to defame Muslims in the country.
“It is the government’s failure. The BJP government has failed to ensure safety of the minorities here. They (BJP) use minorities to show normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir. They use these incidents to defame Muslims across the country,” the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief told reporters.
Blaming the BJP-led Centre for failing to protect Kashmiri Pandits, she said, “A few days ago, right-wing terrorists killed two Muslims in Rajasthan. Today, you have killed a Hindu. What is the difference between you and them?”
Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad condemned the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit, saying it was a matter of grave concern.
“Any killing, especially a targeted killing, is a matter of grave concern and condemnable. We condemn it,” Azad told reporters.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said every targeted killing is condemnable, be that of a Kashmiri Pandit or a Muslim or a Sikh and whether the victim is from Jammu or Kashmir.
However, he said the most unfortunate part is that while many people were arrested in connection with such incidents over the last 30 years, “not one killer has been arrested for these targeted killings in the last two years”
NC’s chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq called the killing an unfortunate incident.
“ As a majority community, we have to ensure the protection of the minorities as the government has failed to do so,” he said.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said all political parties need to open their eyes and remain cautious in the wake of the Election Commission’s decision of recognising the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the real Shiv Sena.
The Election Commission (EC) on Friday recognised the Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and ordered allocation of the ‘bow and arrow’ poll symbol to it, in the process delivering a big blow to Thackeray, whose father Bal Thackeray founded the outfit in 1966.
“What has happened to Shiv Sena, how we have been treated, can happen to you too. All parties should keep their eyes open and be cautious,” Thackeray said during an interaction with members of north Indian community here.
“You want my father’s face, but not his son. I was ready to come along. If you ditch me when I wanted to implement a promise given to my father, what should I do?” he asked while targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“I never wanted to be a chief minister, but was asked by Congress and NCP to take over because otherwise a government could not have been formed. Had BJP honoured the commitment given, both Shiv Sena and BJP would have got their chief ministers for two-and-a-half years each,” he said.
Some people from my party defected. Those who want to leave can go, but they should merge with another party. However, they want to throw me out of my house and take it over, he alleged.
My father groomed these people and Shiv Sainiks supported them. But now they want to become owners and our institutions are such that they have made a thief the owner of the house. What is happening in the country, he asked.
But what has happened is good because people are angry and realised what has happened is wrong, Thackeray added.
Taking a jibe at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Thackeray said, “‘Mogambo khush hua’ on the Election Commission order.”
Thackeray said the BJP pushed him towards joining hands with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as it dishonoured a commitment given.
“I have left the BJP and not Hindutva. I don’t accept BJP’s Hindutva which divides people. The BJP is misleading Hindus, who are now awakened, by bringing issues like ‘hijab’ and cow slaughter during elections. There was a Hindu Akrosh Morcha in Mumbai recently. Why should Hindus make ‘akrosh’ when a powerful leader is ruling the country,” he asked.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thackeray said, “The leader whom we voted for a strong India, himself became strong while the country has become weak.”
Terming as “injustice” the EC’s decision to allot Shiv Sena name and party symbol to the Shinde faction, he said, “This is dirty politics. If you wanted to fight against Shiv Sena, you could have come on the poll field and let people decide.”
Thackeray said Shiv Sena was never against Muslims and north Indians.
“All those who consider India as their motherland are our brothers,” he said.
This is Thackeray’s second interaction with members of the north Indian community settled in Mumbai by Thackeray in the last few days.
With the political permutations and combinations continuously at play in Jammu and Kashmir since the last assembly elections in 2014, the region has witnessed the formation of 22 new political parties in the last eight years, reports Yawar Hussain
JK Police arrested the founder of Awami Awaaz Party on February 16, 2023, for being anti-national. The party came into being after the reading down of Article 370 in August 2019. Pic: JKP
The Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), recently formed by Ghulam Nabi Azad has been a new entrant in Kashmir’s political space. While he managed dissensions from the Congress, the clock reversed soon as sixleaders including three former lawmakers re-joined the Congress around Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Joda Yatra.
Like Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party also faced similar dissensions after the fall of the BJPDP alliance in June 2018. While it paved way for the making of the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party as 12 former PDP leaders joined it, the rest choose Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference which now has 10 former PDP leaders.
Unlike JKAP and JKPC, there are many parties – registered and unregistered, which have cropped up post-August 2019.
Not Traditional
Jammu and Kashmir Nationalist Peoples Front, launched in 2021, is headed by Sheikh Muzzafar who says that the party’s core ideology is violence, drugs and corruption-free Jammu and Kashmir while the issues like Article 370 aren’t their cup of tea.
“The parties raking up the 370 issues should address it. We have only these three issues on our plate,” Muzzafar said. On being asked about how different JKNPF is from parties with similar agendas, Muzzafar said that the traditional parties have exploited both India and Pakistan. “They have added to the violence, the root cause of which is corruption which we plan to eradicate.”
Along similar lines, the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Awaaz party was formally launched in February 2022 with Suhail Khan as President. The party came into the news soon after they went to hoist the tricolour at Ghanta Ghar.
The party spokesperson Mohammad Arif said that the traditional parties have only pushed the common masses down while siphoning the money for themselves. “Our youth are mainly into drugs because of unemployment. We would get multi-national companies here so that youth get jobs like in rest of India.” He said that Article 370 is a right of the people of J&K that they should get. “Party would decide on the course of action on 370 in coming time.”
As per the party’s vision statement, the members have “affirmed to strive for national integration, peace, brotherhood, communal harmony, development and all other issues for the betterment of inhabitants of Jammu Kashmir without consideration of Caste, creed, region, religion, sex colour and so on.”
Jammu and Kashmir All Alliance Democratic Party was launched in July 2022 by Raquib ul Rashi, Navneet Misra and Nasir Ali Kochak, who all switched from Aam Aadmi Party.
Mishra said that the party’s core agenda is statehood which was snatched unfairly. “The traditional parties in Jammu and Kashmir have only divided the people of the area on religious and regional lines. We will try to bridge those gaps.”
He said that JKAADP is for the restoration pre-August 5 status on the lines in which the farm laws were reversed which were also passed by parliament.
Haq Insaf Party, registered with the Election Commission of India in July 2019, is headed by the former Aam Aadmi Party. Its leader Bilal Khan says that the party was formed for addressing basic developmental issues which the traditional parties couldn’t deliver in the erstwhile state. However, Khan believes that Article 370 shouldn’t have been read down.
Gareeb Democratic Party J&K (GDBJK) was launched in September 2022 by Bashir Ahmad Ganie who rechristened his earlier party Rajya Navjawan Shakti Party started in 2005. The party’s core agenda is to give tickets to people from financially weaker backgrounds so that they can become part of the developmental process.
Aman Aur Shanti Tehreek-e-Jammu Kashmir founded by hitherto unknown Abdullah Kashmiri is registered by the Election Commission of India under the unrecognised party category.
Before August 5, the party was a votary for protection of the Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. Recently, Abdullah during a protest asked the leaders associated with the Hurriyat Conference to leave the resistance and become part of mainstream politics.
All India People’s Nationalist Party, launched in November 2021 is headed by Mudasir Ahmad and Sheeraz Zaman Lone Tantray.
Mudasir says that the party’s core agenda is the restoration of the statehood that the Home minister and Prime Minister have promised. “We plan to go to each part of India as well as Jammu and Kashmir for our demand, unlike the traditional parties.”
He says that the party also wants to be a messenger from J&K to other people of India who think that Kashmiris aren’t nationalists. “There is a gap which might be our fault. We want to tell the people of the country that we too are nationalists.”
Jammu and Kashmir Save Party (JKSP) started by Ghulam Hassan Dar is also critical of the traditional parties. Dar says that the PDP and NC have both killed and maimed the people of Kashmir for power while accusing each other of public consumption.
He said that NC sold autonomy while PDP sold self-rule while others sold the right to self-determination and Azadi to the “beleaguered” people of Kashmir.
“The youth of Jammu and Kashmir want to change. We formed the JKSP to only save the people from these traditional parties.”
Jammu and Kashmir Workers Party came into prominence during the 2018’s Panchayat elections which the PDP and NC boycotted against the central government’s non-assurance on protection for Article 370. Since his party put up candidates in that Panchayat election, Mir Junaid, its leader has been vocally critical of both the PDP and NC.
Terming NC’s and PDP’s Gupkar Alliance as ‘Ali Baba Aur Chalis Chor’, Mir said that pre-August-5 these parties were saying that if Article 370 goes they won’t abide by the Indian constitution and won’t even hold the tricolour. “When District Development Council elections were announced, they both jumped into the contest. That is the proof of their hypocrisy.”
“What is wrong if someone from Jammu becomes Chief Minister this time around? Kashmiris have ruled the region for so long,” Mir said. His party has been supportive of the August 5 moves vis-à-vis the erstwhile state.
Mir managed to get dissension from the National Conference when his wife and former lawmaker Shenaz Ganai parted ways with the party before their marriage.
In line with the new parties emerging against the traditional ones, Sheikh Imran, a Srinagar Municipal Corporation councillor has now started Khanyar Darbar which is yet to be established as a party.
Imran, like Mir, came to prominence during the Urban Local Body elections of 2018, which were also boycotted by NC and PDP. He started with Congress and then Peoples Conference. Currently, he is critical of the PDP, Congress, NC and everyone else under the Khanyar Darbar umbrella. However, he has had rekindled bonhomie with JKAP Youth President and SMC Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu but has been critical of JKAP Chief Altaf Bukhari in a rather timid tone.
Challengers
This new political crowd apart, Kashmir’s traditional parties will face the challenge from the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP), Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference (JKPC) and the newly formed Democratic Progressive Azad Party.
JKAP, formed in March 2020, has been critical of the Gupkar Alliance while being silent on the JKPC. The party’s core ideology has been the restoration of statehood along with securing land and job rights for the people and basic development including job creation.
The party floated at a time when all top mainstream leaders of Kashmir were in custody post-August 5. JKAP managed to win 12 seats out of 172 seats in the DDC elections of 2020 but installed its chairmen in two district development councils of Kashmir Valley.
Like the JKAP, the JKPC, which had just two seats in the previous assembly, gained substantial leaders from the PDP.
An ally of the BJP in the previous government, JKPC also won the chairperson posts of two DDCs in Baramulla and Kupwara. The party was a part of the Gupkar Alliance pre and post-August 5 but they parted ways alleging that PDP and NC had put proxy candidates against them in the DDC elections.
However, all Gupkar Alliance constituents alleged that proxy candidates were put up by them against each other including by the JKPC. JKPC has been a votary for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35-A.
Both JKAP and JKPC have been dubbed as BJP’s B-team.
The traditional parties are now also bracing up to either an ally or fight against Azad’s DPAP who had earned goodwill across the board for his three-year term as its chief minister from 2005 to 2008.
Even though Azad hasn’t been critical of the traditional parties barring the Congress, he has termed his chief ministerial era as the “best” in a direct snub to these parties who have ruled J&K multiple times.
His party’s ideology is in contravention of the Gupkar Alliance but in line with the JKAP. DPAP is also vouching for the restoration of statehood along with the protection of land and employment rights for natives and development.
While Gupkar Alliance avoided dubbing DPAP as BJP’s second fiddle, the Congress and JKAP alleged that they were propped up by the Centre. The DPAP hasn’t had a smooth run so far as the party’s few founding members are in the doldrums while some have returned back to the parent Congress party.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which voted in favour of the reading down of Articles 370 and 35-A along with the downsizing of Jammu and Kashmir to a UT, has been looking for inroads into the Jammu province based on their performance in the neighbouring Punjab state.
After facing many hiccups since 2014, the party last year got a shot in the arm when the Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party almost merged into AAP with former’s chairman Harshdev Singh joining the bandwagon.
The party has been eyeing the Jammu province’s Hindu heartland areas where it sees Congress’s downfall as a window of opportunity to challenge the BJP which has been ruling the region since 2014.
Swept Away
Earlier in March 2019, babu-turned-politician Shah Faesal launched Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Movement (JKPM), which he deserted after August 5 to join back the civil services. JKPM became conspicuously absent from the discourse even though it was launched with much fanfare – Hawa badlegi. Initially, the party tied up with former lawmaker Engineer Rashid’s Awami Ittihad Party (AIP) for the 2019’s general elections. Rashid, currently in Tihar jail in a militant funding case, had managed to garner over one lakh votes in a closely contested election.
However, Faesal along with scores of mainstream politicians was detained under Public Safety Act (PSA). After his release in 2020, Faesal left politics and is currently Deputy Secretary of the Union Culture Ministry.
His party was then in hands of former Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker Javaid Mustafa Mir who also deserted the ship to join the JKAP.
Like JKPM, the AIP also witnessed dissensions after Rashid’s arrest. Former AIP Spokesperson Sheeban Ashai left the party last year in August to form the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Party.
He accused his former boss Rashid’s brother Sheikh Khurshid of engaging in close-door negotiations with JKAP Chief Syed Altaf Bukhari.
His party’s agenda would be healthcare, education, infrastructure development and job creation.
“Resolution of Kashmir problem, Articles 370 and 35-A and statehood along with repealing of draconian laws is sacrosanct for us,” Ashai said.
In July 2020, cricketer Sayim Mustafa launched his Jammu and Kashmir Socio-Political Movement (JKSPAM) party which fizzled out soon with no activities visible on the ground. However, last year in March, Mustafa personally participated in a youth convention at Sher-e-Kashmir Park where he spoke on the engagement of youth.
New Jammu Parties
National Awami United Party, founded in July 2019 by Sandeep Singh Manhas is registered with the Election Commission of India under the unrecognised category. The party is focused on clean governance in Jammu and Kashmir.
National Democratic Party (Indian) launched in November 2018 by Rajesh Gupta has been critical of the traditional parties barring the BJP. In May 2019, when BJP returned to power in the centre, Gupta while congratulating Prime Minister Narinder had said, “It is a golden opportunity for Modi to remove article 370 as he promised in his Party’s manifesto. He can overcome this issue once and for all by removing Article 370.”
Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Party Secular was founded by Sushant Bakshi on the issues of clean governance and development.
The two important parties which emerged in Jammu post-2014 include the ultra-right wing Ikk Jutt Jammu headed by Ankur Sharma and Dogra Swabhiman Sanghathan (DSS) headed by former Congress and BJP lawmaker Choudhary Lal Singh.
While Ikk Jutt has been championing the cause of a separate state for Jammu while keeping Kashmir valley as union territory without an assembly, DSS has been focussed on safeguarding Dogra identity which it says is under threat following the reading down of Articles 370 and 35-A.
Parties De-Registered
The Election Commission of India de-registered eight parties in Jammu and Kashmir in 2022, which include Jammu & Kashmir Awami League, Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Party Nationalist, All J&K Peoples Patriotic Front, Democratic Janta Dal (J&K), J&K Citizens Party and Jammu and Kashmir National United Front, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Front (Secular) and Jammu & Kashmir Save Srinagar Front.
J&K Awami League was founded by Mohammad Yusuf Parray (alias Kuka Parray) in 1995 and had an MLA each in the 1996 and 2002 assemblies. Kuka’s son Imtiyaz Parray joined JKAP last year.
The Democratic Party Nationalist was formed by former minister Ghulam Hassan Mir after he quit Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He currently is the senior vice president of JKAP.
The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Front (Secular) is headed by several-time lawmaker Hakim Yasin. The party since its launch in the early 2000s hasn’t won any other seat. Its deregistration has been termed as a “confusion” by the party which has taken up the matter with ECI.
