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Punjab resident to contest from J&K’s Anantnag in a first since Abrogation of Article 370
Punjab’s Baldev Singh says he holds a deep connection with the people of Kashmir, having been involved in philanthropic work during the 2014 floods
Of the 25 candidates who filed nominations for Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency in south Kashmir, 67-year-old Baldev Singh stands out by virtue of being the only non-resident of Kashmir to have filed nomination for an election in the region since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
A resident of Nayagaon in Mohali’s Punjab, Singh says he has spent 20 years moving from one district of Kashmir to another. Besides filing nomination for Anantnag, he says he will also file nomination for Srinagar parliamentary constituency.
“I have not stayed at any one place, but have been a regular visitor of Anantnag, Srinagar, Pulwama, Budgam and Shopian,” he says.
The Anantnag-Rajouri, which goes to polls on May 7, will see political heavyweights including Peoples Democratic Party’s Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference’s Mian Altaf vye for success.
Singh, who is fighting as an independent, says he holds a deep connection with the people of Kashmir, having been involved in philanthropic work during the 2014 floods.
The Nayagaon resident, who lives near Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, says he tries to offer any possible assistance to people from Kashmiri visiting the hospital.
“For the past 20 years I have been doing social service in Kashmir and in Chandigarh as well. In Kashmir I have organised numerous medical and blood camps,” he says.
“I have a house with four rooms and I have rented six rooms. For Kashmiris, who come to me, they stay in my house without any charge. Children in Anantnag know me and several of my visitors from Anantnag, Achabal, Kokernag and Pahalgam have been to my house,” he says.
He wants to help set up a new “Kashmir House” in Chandigarh so people visiting the city can have more options for affordable accommodation.
“The people tell me to fight elections,” he says of his motivation.
Singh is yet to launch a campaign, saying he was waiting for his election symbol, which is expected by April 24. “I am also filing nomination for Srinagar constituency,” he says.
A non-resident Kashmir had for the first time filed nomination in the 2019 general elections from the region. Shams Khwaja, a Delhi resident, gained a lot of traction after filing his nomination papers from Anantnag. That was before the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. Khwaja had completed a law degree from Jamia Millia Islamia and had claimed to be a constitutional expert and a Supreme Court lawyer. He polled only 760 votes.
