Banned in 2019, Jamaat-e-Islami to field independent candidates in J&K polls

Srinagar: Unable to enter the democratic process because of the ban imposed on it, the religio-political organisation, Jamaat-e-Islami in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has decided to field ex-Jamaat members as independent candidates in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Jamaat is going to announce its independent candidates for the first phase of Assembly elections on Monday, sources in the organisation told IANS.

The organisation was declared a banned organisation in February 2019 and thus it could not fight elections in J&K.

Fighting elections is nothing new to this highly cadre-based organisation that has pockets of influence all over the Kashmir Valley.

Jamaat was a very powerful component of the Muslim United Front (MUF) that fought the Assembly elections in 1987 against the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference government in the state.

It is widely believed that mass rigging coupled with false declaration of results was resorted to by the then government with the support of the Congress government at the Centre to prevent the MUF from entering the state Assembly.

An over-enthusiastic rigging aimed at capturing absolute power without any opposition of substance finally resulted in the anger and disgruntlement of the youth from the democratic process.

The rigging of the 1987 elections triggered insurgent violence by the same youth who had campaigned for the MUF candidates during the elections.

Jamaat sources told IANS that they were expecting the Indian government to lift the ban imposed on their organisation so that they could return to the democratic fold by participating in the elections.

After they realised that the ban imposed on them would not be lifted sometime soon, they decided to register an organisation called the Justice & Development Front (JDF) under whose banner they would fight the elections.

"Since that also did not become possible as elections were announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) shortly after the Lok Sabha polls, we have decided to field ex-members of the Jamaat as independent candidates in the Assembly elections to make our intention to become part of the democratic process, public."

"The assurances by the ECI that the elections would be absolutely free, fair and fearless has encouraged us that what happened in 1987 is not going to happen again," said a senior member of the Jamaat.

It is in this background that two former Chief Ministers, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, have welcomed the Jamaat decision to join the election process.

At the same time, the Jamaat entering the Assembly elections in the Valley would make the contest interesting and the result uncertain of many Assembly seats, especially in the south Kashmir districts of Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama.

To begin with, the Jamaat is going to announce its independent candidates for Pulwama, Zainpora, Rajpora, Tral, Bijbehara, Anantnag, Devsar and Kulgam Assembly constituencies on Monday.

The participation of ex-members of the Jamaat would make the upcoming Assembly elections more people participative and politically interesting.

Irrespective of who wins or loses the upcoming Assembly polls in J&K, the Jamaat fielding independent candidates in this election to the now centrally administered state's assembly, being held after ten years, once accomplished without electoral disruptions, would be a victory for India's democratic process with constitutional provisions for dissent, despite the allegations of denial of democratic freedoms within Jammu & Kashmir, the state with a dense military presence.

(Based on IANS with edits)