Fighting their own battle

With the nominations for the first phase of J&K Assembly election finalised, there will be 219 candidates in the fray for the 24 constituencies going to vote on September 18. Among the 219, 91 are contesting as Independents

- KALEEM GEELANI

It's a warm, sunny day and people are starting to gather at an urban, congested locality. Traditionally known for its educational offerings, the small place by the name Khudhamam, in the key Dooru Assembly constituency of southern Kashmir, has now a political address.

Women donning burqas, elderly men in multicultural skull-caps, and the youth in trendy outfits are trickling in to attend an election gathering at a local candidate's residence, which, since the announcement of the much-awaited Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Assembly elections on August 16, has hosted several such gatherings.

"Chaalis saal bekaar, chaar saal bemisaal (Useless for 40 years, unmatched for four)," Iqbal Ahmad Ahanger, who's fighting independently, told the gathering while referring to his tenure of four years as local municipal committee chairman. In the four years, going above and beyond the municipality limits to work for the people is what made him a "standout candidate".

Iqbal, who started his political journey in the early 2000s with the Congress, is pitted against his long association of over two decades. Having devoted his career to the rise of Ghulam Ahmad Mir, general secretary of the All India Congress Committee and a two-time member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Dooru constituency, Iqbal is now in a tough poll battle with Mir, along with the People's Democratic Party's (PDP's) new entrant, Mohammad Ashraf Malik.

"I had no other option but to part ways. Dynastic and family politics runs deep in the Congress. They never allow anyone to grow beyond that bubble, whatsoever the sacrifices and hardships one has endured," Iqbal told Business Standard.

In March this year, the J&K government included 15 new castes in the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category and increased its quota to 8 per cent in job reservation.