Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's brother Mufti Tasaduq Hussian, who is a parliamentary candidate from Anantnag constituency, kicked off his campaign in a closed enclosure at Dak Banglow in Anantnag on Saturday.
Forget militants, the ubiquitous gangs of stone throwers and 'pro azadi' protesters are giving sleepless nights to the mainstream parties, forcing them to stay indoors and campaign in closed enclosures.
Unlike 2014 polls, there are no road shows, no rallies and no election paraphernalia in the Valley. Summer unrest is weighing heavily on the political leaders who are unable to hit the streets for campaigning in the by-polls for fear of stone pelting and 'pro azadi' protests, particularly in south Kashmir.
Srinagar and Anantnag parliamentary constituencies of central and south Kashmir are going to polls on April 9 and 12 respectively. Three-time chief minister and National Conference (NC)-Congress alliance candidate Farooq Abdullah filed his nomination papers from Srinagar constituency on Monday. He is pitted against the former Congress leader Nazir Ahmad Khan who also filed his nomination papers as the ruling Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) candidate on Monday.
What has, however, added a new dimension to these elections is that the political parties are holding rallies and canvassing in secured enclosures, government complexes, or party offices. There have been four major rallies since the by-polls were announced and all of them have been held indoors.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's brother Mufti Tasaduq Hussian, who is a parliamentary candidate from Anantnag constituency, kicked off his campaign in a closed enclosure at Dak Banglow in Anantnag on Saturday.
Despite heavy security, the PDP rally in Dak Banglow in Kulgam district was disrupted when stone pelters injured party workers on Sunday. "Somebody threw a sling shot. There was no stone pelting", said SP Pani, Deputy Inspector General of Police, South Kashmir range.
Farooq Abdullah, the old war horse of Kashmir politics, had to address a rally inside the Nawa-i-Subh party headquarters after filing his nomination on Monday, where party workers converged to kick off his campaign. After his nomination, PDP leader Nazir Khan too drove to party headquarters near Sher-e-Kashmir Park to address the workers on Monday.
"Last year, we were in a terrible situation. We are now coming out of it. The beginning has been good. Kashmir elections are not like rest of the country. We have gone through hell. Tell me, in which part of this world do we have no schools, no trade, no education et al for eight months? It (canvassing) will happen in days to come", Dr Mehboob Beg, chief spokesman of PDP, told DNA.
BJP, however, put up a brave face saying all is well and that the parliament election is different from Assembly polls. "Canvassing during the parliament elections in Jammu and Kashmir is always a low-key affair. Functions are held either in party offices or in district offices. It is nothing new. We have seen people filing forms. It is just a start. It hardly matters whether a leader goes for big public rallies or not", said Khalid Jehangir, BJP spokesman for Kashmir.
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