Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections: No boycott call makes polls challenging, says PDP youth leader

People's Democratic Party youth leader Waheed ur Rehman Para, who is contesting from Pulwama in southern Kashmir, said this Assembly election is challenging because of absence of boycott call as first time voters will decide the fate of several candidates.

Para lamented that PDP was the worst sufferer after August 5, 2019, as its 40 leaders, including all former ministers and parliamentarians, were forced to leave the party. However, he is hopeful his party would win 10-12 seats in this election, making them a strong player in the electoral map of J&K.

"Around 60% of people who boycotted elections till now are the deciders. This is why the result will be surprising as there is not a wave of any political party as is being projected. For political workers this is more challenging as the reachout has to be extensive and it is exhausting," Para told ET.


Para, lost the last Lok Sabha elections against Aga Ruhullah of National Conference from Srinagar constituency but managed to get significant vote share in the four assembly constituencies of Pulwama. In this election, Para is mainly contesting against Khalil Bandh of National Conference, for whom he had successfully campaigned in 2014 assembly elections, when Bandh was member of his party. Another important candidate in this constituency who has the potential to cut Para's vote share is Dr Talat, an independent candidate supported by the select panel of Jamaat e Islami.

Pulwama assembly constituency with over 1 lakh voters is going to polls in Phase 1 on September 18

"This election is about consolidating what we got in the Lok Sabha elections. People have same aspirations and anger but methodology is democratic. Votes have replaced the stones," said Para. In a hung assembly scenario, Para said PDP will naturally support NC and Congress coalition and would prefer to stay out of power if that alliance couldn't form the government.

For Para, assembly in a Union Territory setup is also important as he fears the space will be exploited by someone else, if they don't get there. "We need strong voices in a weak assembly as someone else can do more damaging things in that space," he said.

On larger political understanding of J&K in New Delhi, Para said that unfortunately the pro and the anti-india in the end gets the same treatment just for being from Kashmir.