Separatists may not boycott LS polls in Kashmir

It's unlikely that separatists in Jammu and Kashmir will boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. After an overwhelming 62 per cent voter turnout in the recent assembly polls, the view among separatists is that people should be allowed to choose whether they want to vote or not. Arun Joshi reports.

It's unlikely that separatists in Jammu and Kashmir will boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. After an overwhelming 62 per cent voter turnout in the recent assembly polls, the view among separatists is that people should be allowed to choose whether they want to vote or not.

HT Image

Clearly, it’s better than being left red-faced.

Separatists have been boycotting Lok Sabha elections since 1989. Now, they are looking for a positive strategy to express their view rather than resort to boycotts and protests.

Though All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq did not give a direct answer, he said the Lok Sabha elections were different from Assembly polls. “But we have to discuss the matter,” Farooq said.

Fazal-ul-Haq Qureshi, executive member of Hurriyat Conference and leader of Peoples Political Front, said: “We should not issue a boycott call because that doesn’t serve any purpose.” According to Qureshi, boycotting elections has always been a matter of debate. “It should be left to the people,” he said.

Javed Mir, leader of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Forum, said: “We have to take a step after weighing the backdrop of the Assembly polls. It should be a well thought out decision based on ground realities.”

Separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who heads the rival faction of Hurriyat Conference, is one of the few who maintains the polls must be boycotted. “It is then for the people to decide which way they want to go,” he said.