The Jammu & Kashmir Assembly election is unfolding in a political landscape far from certain. The stakes for the two political families of Abdullah and Mufti of the Union Territory are at an all-time high, adding an element of intrigue to the unfolding narrative.
Omar Abdullah is forced to contest from two Assembly seats in Jammu & Kashmir, one of the biggest developments in this election. The Abdullah family always considered the Kashmir valley as its fiefdom. However, due to the abrogation of Article 370 and changes in the ground-level reality, the political landscape has completely changed. This change occurred in the 2024 Lok Sabha election when scions of both the political families in Jammu & Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, lost in the Lok Sabha election 2024.
Putting a candidature from two seats in an election has two different political narratives. Firstly, the leader may be suspicious of his victory. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Rahul Gandhi had put his candidature in two seats: Amethi and Wayanad. Rahul Gandhi lost in Amethi in 2019. In the 2010 Assembly election in Bihar, former Chief Minister and wife of RJD supremo Laloo Yadav, Rabri Devi, contested and lost both seats. Narendra Modi contested two seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and expanded the mass base of his party not only in these two States but in the entire country.
Omar Abdullah’Abdullah’snt and Mehbooba Mufti kept herself away from electoral politics. She is not contesting the Assembly election while she put her daughter Iltija Mufti from her familiar traditional seat of Srigufwara–Bijbehara. Mehbooba herself was the Chief Minister, and despite that, she did not dare to contest the election, clearly showing that the established politicians were not even confident of their seats to win.
The BJP’s approach to the Jammu and Kashmir poll in the 2024 LS election yielded impressive results. Both scions, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, lost their seats by a considerable margin of votes. The BJP’s decision not to contest three seats in the Kashmir valley allowed new players to test their strength and devise their strategies for the upcoming elections, a move that left a lasting impression.
Following a similar pattern, the BJP again decided not to contest on 28 Assembly seats in the valley. This is a masterstroke of the BJP to checkmate the PDP and INC-NC alliance. New players and Independents will try their luck on these seats, which will be a big challenge for the NC and PDP to maintain their political hegemony in Kashmir valley.
The local elections in Jammu and Kashmir have brought to the forefront a wave of grassroots leaders who have strong connections with the masses. As campaigners or candidates, these local elected representatives will be crucial in the Assembly election. This emergence of new leaders presents a hopeful sign and a significant challenge to the Abdullah and Mufti families.
