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Jamaat-backed candidates float new political party in Kashmir
Jamaat, a politico-religious organisation, which was banned by the central government in 2019 for their alleged links to militant outfits, had fielded some 10 candidates as Independents in the assembly elections that happened last year in September-October, including Sayyar Ahmad Reshi and Talat Majid in South Kashmir with no success on any seat
Eyeing the upcoming municipal and urban local bodies polls, Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) affiliated candidates, some of whom fought recent assembly elections, on Sunday launched a political party - Justice and Development Front (JDF).
Jamaat, a politico-religious organisation, which was banned by the central government in 2019 for their alleged links to militant outfits, had fielded some 10 candidates as Independents in the assembly elections that happened last year in September-October, including Sayyar Ahmad Reshi and Talat Majid in South Kashmir with no success on any seat.
HT was the first one to report last year that the JeI members were intending to start a party and had also decided on the title of the banner.
During the militancy, which erupted in 1989, separatists and Jamaat would boycott elections and hold rallies against voting in J&K.
Reshi made the announcement regarding this formation at a convention in south Kashmir on Sunday. “We want to work for the people. In the coming days, after consultations, we will fight elections from every place; the elections to urban local bodies so that educated and sincere people come forward and work for people,” Reshi said.
The participation of the JeI-backed candidates in assembly elections had marked the organisation’s return to electoral politics after 37 years.
“You have tried many people for the past 70 years, now a party has come to the fore which is sincere. Come and support us in starting a new revolution,” he said.
JDF president Shamim Ahmad Thokar said that they wanted to give an informal introduction of JDF today. “We want mobilisation of people, the common people who are not associated with politics or voting. We want to involve them in politics ,” he said.
“People are facing many issues at the grassroots level like drug abuse, environmental issues like our water springs have dried up or drainage systems have collapsed. We will try to work to the extent we can on all these issues and help the government. We will hold consultations regarding municipal and urban local bodies elections and try to participate in every election,” he said.
This is not Jamaat’s first dab into politics. Jamaat was the key party of the Muslim United Front (MUF), an amalgam of different parties against NC, in the 1987 elections which later alleged that elections were heavily rigged. The alleged rigging caused disaffection among a section of the populace in the valley setting the conditions for a full blown insurgency in J&K in 1989.
South Kashmir districts of Kulgam, Shopian and Anantnag are considered a stronghold of Jamaat. In 1987 MUF had won Kulgam, Homshalibug and Anantnag in south Kashmir.
In 2019, the central government imposed a five-year ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir, citing the outfit’s alleged ties with militant groups.
After the ban, the members of JeI had decided to fight the assembly elections and nominations were filed by at-least 10 former members. But no member could win any seat across the Valley.
