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Bullets to ballot box: Sopore’s major leap
Sopore is among the 16 constituencies in north Kashmir set to go to assembly polls — the first in a decade in J&K — in the third and final phase of the elections in the Union territory.
Excitement for the upcoming polls is palpable in the Sopore assembly constituency in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, as candidates, all 20 of them, make their last-ditch efforts to woo voters in this apple town. Once a stronghold of separatists and a hotbed for militancy in Jammu & Kashmir, the region witnessed a revival of political activities during the Lok Sabha polls this summer.
Sopore is among the 16 constituencies in north Kashmir set to go to assembly polls — the first in a decade in J&K — in the third and final phase of the elections in the Union territory. The results will be announced on October 8, along with the Haryana assembly polls.
Emerging out of fear
For many in Sopore, the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year and the ongoing assembly polls are the revival of political activities since militancy gripped the region in 1989. The assembly seat has a unique history of electing separatist leader and Hurriyat hardliner, late Syed Ali Geelani, thrice, with the latest coming in 1987.
Following the emergence of militancy, the constituency witnessed a dismal voter turnout. In 2008, only 19% electors exercised their franchise in the assembly segment, which went up to 30% in 2014. Most urban pockets would see less than 5% turnouts — a pattern that continued for decades until the Lok Sabha polls this year.
In the parliamentary polls, voters in both urban and rural pockets came out in good numbers as the turnout surged to 45% from mere 4% in the 2019 elections.
“This is the first big election after 1987 when prominent separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani got elected from Sopore. Thereafter, Sopore town and adjacent villages used to stay away from polls. The candidate whose village and relatives voted would go on to become MLA. The last Lok Sabha polls changed the equation when a large number of voters even in town voted,” Mushaq Ahmad Teli, a local resident, said. “Everybody is hopeful this time assembly polls will have a good poll percentage.”
“In the past two decades I have never seen such enthusiasm in the town. People are very anxious that they should get a chance to elect a local representative who knows the problems of the town. Whether this happens or not depends upon the voting percentage in the town,” Muneeb ul Haq, a local journalist, said.
Key candidates in fray
A total of 20 candidates are in the electoral arena in Sopore, with National Conference’s Irshad Rasool Kar, former legislator of Congress Abdul Rashid Dar and PDP nominee Irfan Ali Lone representing the three big parties. Ten independent candidates, including Abdul Latief Wani, and three women nominees, including Arti Nehru, a Kashmiri Pandit, are also in the fray.
A majority of candidates from Sopore town have highlighted how the boycott of elections over the decades has left the apple town, a major business hub, neglected. Sopore has Asia’s second-largest fruit mandi and majority of people in the region are involved in the apple trade.
Earlier this week, Congress lawmaker Rahul Gandhi, while campaigning for Abdul Rashid Dar, assured people that efforts will be made to transport apple from Sopore to foreign countries. Though the NC and Congress are contesting the J&K polls in an alliance, the two parties are engaged in a “friendly contest” in Sopore.
Abdul Latief Wani, the head of Anjuman-e-Moin-ul-Islam which is involved in charity and social work in Sopore, is seen by many as the dark horse in these elections. Wani, who is contesting as an independent after being overlooked by the NC, is banking on his good reputation in the town and his charity work.
“I have been involved in the social work of the town for years, so I know the problems people face. I can’t help everybody who comes to us at Moin ul Islam but if I will get elected as an assembly member, I can be more helpful to the people of my constituency,” said Wani, whose campaign is mostly run by the youth of the town.
