Srinagar: Leaders of Jammu and Kashmir's two key political parties - Omar Abdullah and now Mehbooba Mufi - have targeted the growing number of Independent candidates in the coming assembly elections in the Union Territory. While Mr Abdullah has said the BJP is planning to strike a deal with Independents and smaller political outfits after the election, Ms Mufti said today that jailed MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid's Awami Ittehad Party is a proxy of the BJP.
Engineer Rashid, as Sheikh Rashid is popularly known, had contested in the general elections held earlier this year from jail and beat Omar Abdullah to win the Baramulla seat. Ms Mufti said while his victory is understandable, what is unclear is how he is funding his party and bringing it to prominence with multiple candidates in this election.
"Rashid is in jail. (PDP founder) Mufti (Mohammad Sayeed) took 50 years to form the party, we still do not have resources to field candidates everywhere. Who is behind his (Engineer's) organisation so their candidates are fielded everywhere? From where is the funding coming? From where are they getting such courage to engage in hooliganism?" she said a day after a PDP candidate was injured in an attack, allegedly by the workers of the Awami Ittehad Party.
"I want to ask the government -- if you have again come up a proxy party, Engineer Rashid's party, when all your other proxy parties have failed, you have brought Engineer Rashid's party to the fore, and you are supporting them fully with funds and everything, then tell us clearly that others parties do not have to contest elections," she said.
Yesterday, Mr Abdullah had said the BJP is keeping its doors open for post-poll alliance with parties such as People's Conference and Awami Ittehad Party.
Jammu and Kashmir has seen an unprecedented spike in the number of Independent candidates in this election. For the first two phases, 145 candidates - 44 per cent of the total - are in fray.
Part of the reason is that these Independents are members of smaller political outfits not recognised by the Election Commission, although a few of them are registered outside Jammu and Kashmir. So the members of these parties are contesting as Independents.
Mehbooba Mufti said the people should not be influenced by these "proxy' parties. "There is a huge power behind them who wants to divide the vote in Kashmir... They want to harm the cause of J&K," said the former Chief Minister, who has said that she would not contest as long as J&K remains a Union Territory and its special status is not restored.
Elections will be held in the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly after a decade on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.