Security arrangements in Kashmir.Image credit source: PTI
So far 14 Kashmiri Pandits have filed their candidature to contest the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections from the Valley. The aim of Kashmiri Pandits is to ensure the return and rehabilitation of members of their community. Their number is about 3 lakh. Srinagar’s Habba Kadal assembly constituency has become a battleground for displaced Kashmiri Pandits. Voting in the second phase of assembly elections here is on September 25.
Along with the Habba Kadal assembly constituency, polling is also being held in 26 other constituencies on September 25. The voting process for the elections has started. The security of the area has been increased.
At least six candidates from the Kashmiri Pandit community have filed their nomination papers in Habba Kadal, election officials told PTI. Five of them have filed as recognized political parties and two as independents. So far a total of 14 Kashmiri Pandit candidates have filed their candidature.
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Sanjay Saraf has filed nomination papers as Lok Jan Shakti Party candidate, Ashok Kumar Bhatt as BJP candidate and Santosh Labru as All Alliance Democratic Party candidate. While Panaji Dembi, Ashok Raina and Ashok Sahib will contest as independent candidates.
There are about 25,000 foreign Kashmiri Pandit voters.
Sanjay Saraf has contested elections twice from this seat. He says his aim is to bridge the gap between communities and bring Kashmiri Pandits spread across the country back to the Valley.
The Habba Kadal assembly constituency has a vote bank of around 25,000 migrant Kashmiri Pandits. It is traditionally considered the stronghold of the National Conference. In the year 2002, Raman Mattoo won the election as an independent candidate and became a minister in the Mufti Saeed government.
A fight for survival for Kashmiri Pandits
Four Kashmiri Pandit candidates contested from this seat in 2014, while the number was a record 12 in 2008. In the 2002 elections, 9 out of 11 were Kashmiri Pandit candidates
Apni party’s MK Yogi, BJP’s Veer Saraf and independent Dilip Pandita are contesting from Shangas-Anantnag constituency. A total of 13 candidates are in the fray from this area.
Yogi, former president of the powerful Martand Mandir Samiti and former NC leader, says that no party has done anything for Kashmiri Pandits. Nothing has been done for Kashmiri Pandits in the last 15 years.
