Over 2.5 million voters will decide the fate of 239 candidates in the fray for 26 Jammu and Kashmir assembly seats in the second phase of the election to be held in the Union territory on Wednesday.
The National Conference suffered a major setback in Jammu as two prominent leaders Devender Rana and Surjit Singh Slathia resigned from the party on Sunday.
Sajjad is the younger son of Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone who was assassinated on May 21, 2002, by militants
Mehbooba said Article 370 was a bridge between the Union and the state.
"There are differences in the (PDP-BJP) coalition, no body can deny that. If you need evidence, just look at chief minister's iftaar party in Delhi yesterday where no Central BJP leader was present," said Omar Abdullah
'Her tussle is a different ballgame from what it was when Farooq Abdullah and Rajiv Gandhi were the main players at the two ends of the power game.' 'The shadow of the party in power in New Delhi over J&K affairs in 1987 was not as menacing as it is in 2018,' points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the doyen of Kashmir commentators.
Those familiar with intricate Kashmir politics do not rule out further delay in the assembly elections. Primarily, because the BJP having 'invested' so much for so long in Kashmir would try its best to wait a little longer if only to secure the 'gains' it believes to have achieved after its deafening action on August 5, 2019, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The President's rule imposed in undivided Jammu and Kashmir was revoked on Thursday following the state's bifurcation into Union Territories, but the central rule will continue for an indefinite period through the Lieutenant Governor (LG) in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
A man of perseverance and great survivor, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed had an astute political sense honed by decades of experience in Kashmir politics that has stood him in good stead in crafting a delicate alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party to return as chief minister for the second time.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
For the last four years since abrogation of Article 370, Kashmir-based political parties have been struggling to forge an alternate narrative to the one forcibly snatched from them. The BJP is bound to go hammer and tongs at them now that their armoury is reinforced with the Supreme Court judgment, notes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the veteran commentator on Kashmir affairs.
A total of 123 candidates, including seven ministers of Congress-National Conference coalition, eight former ministers and legislators are in fray for the Jammu and Kashmir's first phase of elections scheduled later this month.
The biggest electoral upset in the state was witnessed in Anantnag with National Conference candidate and former high court judge Hasnain Masoodi defeating former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.
"Our handshake with Indian Union was subject to certain conditions," he said.
At the moment, there appears to be no alternative political narrative to the one lying buried under the debris of havoc caused on this front by the fallout of 'August 5, 2019', asserts Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
All opposition parties from J&K to apprise President of Kashmir situation.
The PDP is the front-runner in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls. The ruling National Conference and the Congress will be lucky to reach double figures.
Muhammad Yunus urged the people to "exercise patience" before judging his government's role.
"The situation has become irretrievable", Azad, 73, said in his parting shot to Sonia Gandhi, whose trusted confidante he remained right from the time of Sitaram Kesri's unceremonious exit as the party's chief in 2000.
When he was chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was able to blunt inter-regional and inter-communal tensions which Farooq and Omar Abdullah could not do. Whether he can repeat it with the BJP by his side would have to be seen, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
Independent MLA Engineer Rashid, who a hosted beef party at MLA hostel on Wednesday, was beaten up by BJP MLA Ravinder Raina in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Thursday.
Mufti's political graph shows his fondness for courting unpopular, politically hazardous ventures in pursuit of his ultimate objective to vindicate his leadership. Towards the end of his life, Mufti's public profile had come to assume the dimensions of statesmanship. One reason being his willingness to learn from his experience, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
'There is no point in just saying, 'hum wapas bhej denge (we will send Kashmiri Pandits back)'.'
The chargesheet, filed by the State Investigation Agency, has highlighted several instances where parents were taken across the border using valid travel documents but were later compelled to pay extra money for their wards' admission to universities and colleges there.
'Aggravated fears about the fate of Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution have reopened old wounds and laid bare the widening emotional distance between Srinagar and New Delhi,' says Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
The fruits of election boycotts are harvested not only by the separatists but also by beneficiaries across the democratic divide, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
'Knowing him personally, I can safely say that the usually soft-spoken, qualified medical doctor would not have said what he was 'caught' saying if only he had realised that he was stepping on a political landmine across the emotional LoC, says Mohammad Sayeed Malik.
Pandemonium prevailed in Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Monday as banner-waving members of the legislative assembly of opposition National Conference and the Congress stormed the well over beef ban and other issues.
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a unanimous resolution asking the Centre to conduct a thorough and time-bound probe into the charges levelled by former Army Chief V K Singh about political payoffs to mainstream politicians of the state.
At least six bank accounts linked to the group have been identified and the banks concerned directed to immediately freeze them.
'Although the tactical move to outflank the BJP fell through with New Delhi's decisive intervention and eventual dissolution of the state assembly, the PDP, NC and the Congress appeared to be more than satisfied.' 'They see the assembly dissolution as their 'great achievement'.' 'If one were to believe what they say, this was also their main objective,' reveals Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the doyen of Kashmiri commentators.
'This election was the first opportunity where Kashmiris told the world they do not agree with the Centre's policies and are unhappy about their disempowerment.'
The suspense over government formation in Jammu and Kashmir following the hung verdict in the assembly elections continued on Wednesday as the People's Democratic Party, the single largest party, and the Bharatiya Janata Party, the next big outfit, kept their cards close to the chest.
'When those who took oath in the name of the Indian Constitution are not acceptable, where do the other Kashmiris stand?'
'The surge of Saudi nationalism is the last thing Washington wants,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'It is the impression in Kashmir that if ever a realistic resolution of the problem/dispute is sought to be seriously attempted by New Delhi, the BJP is the best bet,' says Mohammed Sayeed Malik, the distinguished observer on Kashmir.
'Modi has missed the bus in Kashmir.'
The high table might have yielded relief at personal levels, but its political implications look forbidding at this point in time, observes Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
Counting of votes will be held today in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand which witnessed a record turnout in the multi-cornered contests to elect their assemblies.
