How Delimitation Ended Geographical Continuity For J&K's Anantnag Seat

Political parties contesting the polls for Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary seat are grappling with the reality of a new electoral map. Delimitation has drastically redrawn electoral boundaries, ignoring the question of geographical continuity.

The mighty Pir Panjal mountain splits the Anantnag constituency, pushing Rajouri and Poonch to the other side. In between is Shopian district, which has been made part of Srinagar parliament seat. For political parties and candidates, travelling from one part of the constituency to the other area for campaigning is a huge challenge.

A Mughal-period road that connects Shopian with Poonch has been partially opened since yesterday after the long winter closure. But it takes little shut down the road -- even a short drizzle is enough. E the weather fair or foul, the road remains open for limited hours.

So a candidate has to travel over 500 km via Jammu to reach other part of constituency in Rajouri, Poonch.

"People will face difficulty. Where will they find their MP in a constituency which divided like this? First one has to reach Jammu, then to Rajouri. Delimitation has bulldozed J&K and south Kashmir is the worst hit," said Sakina Itoo, a senior leader of the National Conference.

Even before campaigning picks up in Anantnag, its high profile candidate Ghulam Nabi Azad has indicated that he may pull out of the race -- his first test of popularity after his exit from the Congress. A week ago, his party announced his candidature from Anantnag- Rajouri. Mr Azad said he is yet to take a final decision.

The INDIA bloc has fractured in Anantnag constituency, which the People's Democratic Party was demanding for its president Mehbooba Mufti. Omar Abdullah's National Conference refused to concede the seat and it was a tough choice for the Congress to decide who to support.

On Monday, the Congress announced that it would partner National Conference, leaving Mehbooba Mufti to fight a lonely battle. Her PDP has been in tatters since the Constitution's Article 370, which granted Jammu and Kashmir its special status, was scrapped.

Ms Mufti says her party has been the main target of the BJP government.

"Since 2019, PDP has been the main target. Our party was broken, our leaders poached etc," said Ms Mufti, who is in fray for the Anantnag- Rajouri seat.

The constituency is speared over four districts with over 17 lakh voters from different ethnic backgrounds.

The National Conference has fielded its popular Gujjar leader Mian Altaf Ahmad, given the sizable Gujjar vote on both sides of Pir Panjal. The party is also projecting its seat sharing with the Congress as its credentials of being the true anti-BJP force in Kashmir, where every party accuses its opponent of being the BJPs "B Team".

After announcing the seat-sharing formula, Omar Abdullah claimed the NC-Congress alliance will win all six seats in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

In 2019, NC had won three seats in the Valley while the remaining three were taken by the BJP.

"We will unitedly try to win all the six seats for INDIA alliance from J&K and Ladakh and represent aspirations of people in the parliament," said Mr Abdullah.

The BJP is still undecided if it would field a candidate or back its informal ally Apni Party, which has fielded a candidate from the Pahari community. The BJP is hoping to give reservation to the Pahari community under the Scheduled Tribes section. The community forms a chunk of votes in Poonch and Rajouri districts and the move is expected to pay electoral dividends.

While campaigning in Anantnag is still subdued, it appears to be a triangular contest between PDP, National conference and the BJP-backed candidate. The Anantnag-Rajouri seat is not just a high-stakes battle for parliamentary election. Its result will also shape political landscape in Kashmir ahead of the next assembly election, expected by September.