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The Dal Lake was buzzing with activity. Shikaras packed with people matched pace with steamers full of National Conference supporters waving party flags.
It was Sunday, the last day of campaigning before polling on Tuesday and National Conference president Omar Abdullah was out to prove his support in the capital, widely considered a stronghold of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, with a boat rally.
The impoverished boatmen -- mobile shopkeepers -- watched the frenzied activity with amused interest.
A small distance from the tiny Nehru Park in the centre of the lake, where Abdullah began the boat rally, the numbers grew.
Old women, teenage girls, excited children all got on to their shikaras to join in the fun. They sang and danced and jumped and shrieked when waves created by motorboats rocked their shikaras.
And as the rally on the lake moved towards its destination, the Mirwehi locality on the other end of the stretch, slogans became louder.
'Here comes Roohullah's army. Long live Roohullah.'
Roohullah? But isn't Omar Abdullah the National Conference's chief ministerial candidate? Who is Roohullah?
The answer lies in the politics of sectarianism that is now a part and parcel of Kashmir.
A large majority of the boatmen who inhabit the banks of Dal Lake are Shia Muslims. They are the followers of Prophet Mohammed's son-in-law Ali and have certain spiritual heads in the valley - Aghas, who claim to be the descendants of the Prophet.
In a move to rope in this Shia vote-bank, the National Conference has nominated Syed Roohullah (26), an Agha, from Budgam assembly segment. His father, the Agha Syed Mehdi, had been killed in a militant attack.
At Mirwehi village, on a dusty crossroad, a 2000-strong crowd roars as Roohullah touches a familiar cord with the people for whom the Agha's every word is gospel. Omar Abdullah is content to be a mere spectator.
"I will take care of every man associated with me. Those who have been evicted from the Dal Lake and have not been compensated... I will fight for them," Roohullah tells the crowd.
Omar Abdullah on his part promises a ministerial berth to Roohullah if the National Conference comes to power. "If you elect the National Conference, we will ensure your rehabilitation in three months in new colonies," he says.
The National Conference is betting its horses on capturing the 8000-strong Shia votes in the constituency.
With a little help from the Sunnis, the Hazratbal seat will also be theirs, that is, if the election boycott by the separatist Hurriyat Conference is successful.
And chances are that it will be.
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