CPI(M) veteran Tarigami faces challenge from Jamaat-backed candidate in J&K’s Kulgam

Kashmir's lone communist leader faces challenge from banned green party in Kulgam constituency, sparking rare electoral battle.

The red flag of Kashmir’s lone communist party leader, M.Y. Tarigami, is for the first time facing a challenge from the banned green party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI)-backed candidate Sayar Ahmad Reshi in south Kashmir’s Kulgam constituency.

Winning four Assembly elections in a row since 1996, 77-year-old Mr. Tarigami has stepped up his poll campaign and addressed 10 poll rallies on Tuesday. He is up against a formidable opponent in Mr. Reshi in spite of being a joint candidate of the National Conference (NC)-Congress alliance in J&K. With the Jamaat boycotting elections for three decades, the main contest in Kulgam has been between the NC and the CPI(M). Unlike other parts of south Kashmir, the Kulgam constituency had been on a high graph of voter turnout and recorded 56.5% polling in the 2014 Assembly elections.

Without naming JeI, Mr. Tarigami took a metaphoric dig at Mr. Reshi in his speeches. “​There is a new eagle in the market, which has already taken away chicks. People must protect their chicks as this eagle has a habit of snatching them away. The people of Kulgam should not forget that this eagle has allied with the big eagle, and they need to realize this sooner rather than later,” Mr. Tarigami said.

In his poll rallies, Mr. Tarigami questioned the JeI’s decision to field candidates and hinted at an under-the-table understanding between the government and the JeI, which was deemed an unlawful outfit in 2019 by the Centre under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He said, “Politics has nothing to do with religion, and it never did in the past, nor will it in the future. Some people who, until yesterday, called voting a sin, are today saying it is a virtuous act.”

Mr. Tarigami said he always raised his voice against “injustice and reminded everyone that Kashmiris have been betrayed”. “We must keep them in mind and give your support wisely,” he said.

Mr. Tarigami is also a spokesman of now defunct Peoples Alliance for the Gupkar Alliance (PAGD), an amalgam of J&K parties formed to fight for the restoration of the pre-August 5, 2019 position. He has hardened his position against the BJP’s moves in J&K after 2019.

The growing size of public rallies and door-to-door campaigns by 42-year-old Mr. Reshi have drifted the politics of Kulgam to the pre-1990 era. In 1987, Mr. Tarigami had lost to a candidate fielded by the Muslim United Front (MUF), an amalgam supported by the JeI.