By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Srinagar: Although the BJP’s ‘Mission 44’ failed in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, especially as it failed to make any breakthrough in the Kashmir valley, the saffron party with its clever caste calculations found new vistas in the troubled state vis-à-vis its Muslim candidates in Jammu region.
The BJP had given tickets to 32 Muslim candidates, six contested from Jammu, one from Ladakh and rest 25 from the Kashmir valley. In line with the mainstream trend, almost all candidates from Kashmir valley lost their deposits but it was in the Jammu region that party’s Muslim candidates gave a face saving performance.
(TCN file photo)
Abdul Gani Kholi is the lone BJP Muslim candidate to register a victory in Rajauri district’s Kalakote seat. He won defeating his nearest rival of National Conference Rashpal Singh with a margin of 7,200 votes. A long time Congressman and a Gujjar community leader, Kholi joined BJP just before the ticket distribution was to be announced.
In all, 58 Muslim candidates won from across the state, results for which were declared on Tuesday.
A local political commentator told TCN that the main reason behind Kholi’s success is the polarization of Pahadi Muslims and Gujjar Muslims on caste grounds. While Pahadi Muslims went for their candidate of PDP Asad Bari Shah, the major Gujjar voters supported their caste candidate Abdul Gani Kholi resulting in an impressive victory.
BJP, since the beginning of its election campaign in J&K, focused more to get Gujjar and Bakarwals, regarded as schedule tribes in the state, in their fold. Party in-charge and RSS leader Ram Madhav made sure BJP widens its base through Muslim caste votes, and even promised Gujjars and Bakarwals political reservation in the state.
The successive formula of Gujjar Muslim versus the rest of Muslim polarization went well in other constituencies of Rajouri district as well resulting in rich political dividends and new hope for BJP.
In Rajouri assembly former NC leader and Member of Parliament Chowdry Talib Hussain, another prominent Gujjatr leader, stood 2nd with 24,464 votes losing with a narrow margin of 2,500 votes to PDP’s Qamar Hussain.
From Jammu’s Kishtawar district, BJP’s another Gujjar Muslim candidate from Inderwal constituency Tariq Hussain Keen secured 2nd spot with 17,384 votes, while Gulam Saroori of Congress won with 29.754 votes. Hussain Keen was recently the talk of the town when an audio clip of his alleged conversation in Gojri demanding sexual favors from a woman went viral in the district.
In Jammu’s Rambhan district Banihal constituency, Showket Jawed stood 4th with 9,874 votes. BJP president Amit Shah had personally campaigned for Showkat, who is also a Gujjar. Sitting MLA Vikar Rasool Wani bagged the seat again.
Other prominent Muslim faces of BJP in Kashmir other than Gujjars have to bite dust especially in the valley. Heena Shafi Bhat, daughter of two-time legislator and former National Conference leader Mohammad Shafi Bhat, who was projected by BJP’s as its face in Kashmir valley, stood 3rd in Amira Kadal with just 1,359 votes. Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally campaigned for Bhat.
Head of BJP’s Kashmir valley operations, Sofi Yusuf got just 1,943 votes from Pahalgam. State president of BJP’s Muslim Morcha Malik Mushtaq Noorabadi lost his deposit, getting just 648 votes from his home town Noorabad.
In Kangan BJP’s Kashmiri Muslim Pandit face Nazir Ahmed Raina got just over 500 votes. While Darakshan Andrabi, another Kashmiri Muslim women face of BJP, lost her deposit getting just 1,100 votes in Sonawar.