SRINAGAR: As the south Kashmir’s Anantnag Pulwama constituency goes to polls tomorrow, it would not only decide the fate of two main contestants, but also the political fortunes of the two rival Kashmir centric political parties, the ruling National Conference (NC) and opposition, People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Though the candidates of the two parties are low-profile political figures, yet the political forces they represent are strong. The political forces that are locked in an intense battle at the hustings are, the NC-Congress combine on the one side and the opposition PDP which emerged as a very strong force in south Kashmir in recently held state assembly elections.
This south Kashmir constituency goes to polls, the first in the valley in the backdrop of a 50-hour bandh called by the firebrand separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and a poll boycott call by both groups of the separatist, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).
Even though 13 contestants are in the fray, the main contest is mainly a direct one between the ruling NC-Congress combine and the PDP. The NC-Congress candidate Mirza Mehboob Beg is supported in his campaign by big guns like Farooq Abdullah, Saifud Din Soz, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and senior leaders of the Congress party.
Even Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited the constituency to canvass support for Beg. On the other hand, PDP’s Peer Mohammad Hussain received support from former state Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, and his daughter and party president, Mehbooba Mufti.
Rahul said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) practices “politics of division and anger” while the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) stands for “love, friendship and future.”
“I have not come here today as a politician, but as a young man who extends his hand of friendship to the youth of Kashmir. Your vote this time is not for the National Conference (NC) or the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). It is for the (Congress-led) UPA or the (Bharatiya Janata Party-led) NDA,” Rahul later said in Srinagar.
“You have to choose whether you want Manmohan Singh to be the next prime minister of the country or (L.K.) Advani. The choice is clear,” he said. Rahul also said that the state had witnessed a surge in development works during the UPA rule.
