In Photos: Election Campaigns in a Land Without Elections For a Decade

Srinagar: As Jammu and Kashmir faces its first assembly elections as a Union Territory, it is increasingly less important who wins and which party gets to call themselves victors. It is the campaigns that are noteworthy.

My flight lands at Srinagar airport before time, at around 8 pm. My usual driver Ali Mohammed comes to receive me and my first question after greeting him is about the elections.

He smiles and says, “It’s electrifying.”

Ali has been with me for decades. He was with me when I was injured while covering the violence in the state. Ali has always been optimistic despite many odds.

As we exit the airport, as usual, we see armoured vehicles. But then, we get stuck in a traffic snarl which is odd at that hour of the day. The reason becomes clear. A People’s Democratic Party rally.

The frenzied campaign rally in the last hours of the day was clear indication of how the elections had captured the imaginations and lives of J&K residents.

Iqbal Tramboo was sweating even in the mild weather. But as the candidate from PDP led by Mehbooba Mufti, he was not leaving any stone unturned in accusing BJP of corrupting the political scenes of Kashmir.

The next day, I saw the cavalcade of Omar Abdullah at Ganderbal. Here too, a large crowd appeared welcoming of the National Conference scion. With so many people, Omar himself had to ask the security personnel to help create space. A PDP campaign SUV emerged, but the villagers made space for their competitor with ease.

Another leader whose rallies drew attention was Engineer Rashid, out on bail to campaign for the polls.

As such campaigns took place, security helicopters circled above.

Once the campaigns ended and the Model Code of Conduct took over, there was a stillness in the air, but in conversations, it was only the elections that was discussed.

All photos by Shome Basu.