#baselinebattles

By Faisul Yaseen

It is a Wimbledon of words and non-playing captains are calling the shots.

Welcome to Kashmir’s political court where the non-playing captains do not touch a racquet, yet their every serve is scrutinised, every rally dissected.

Their juicy rhetoric and intricate political maneuvering on Kashmir’s electoral landscape have turned the campaign for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections into a fascinating spectacle.

Sitting on the sidelines, these veteran strategists, with decades of political acumen, are the true maestros of this championship, their players mere extensions of their game plan on the electoral court.

The forehand of the non-playing captain of National Conference (NC), Farooq Abdullah, a three-time chief minister and party’s president, is capable of wrong-footing even the most nimble opponent.

Playing at the centre court, his game is a potent mix of charisma and political savvy. A rallying force, his aura permeates alleyways and villages, his presence commanding crowds, as though every political rally he touches turns into a grand slam event.

His team may be the ones playing the game, but it is Abdullah’s forehand that sets the ball in motion.

NC spokesman Imran Nabi Dar says that the party revolves around Abdullah.

“He is a crowd puller and a mass mobiliser,” Dar says. “His aura is not limited to Jammu and Kashmir.”

Across the net stands Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president, whose refusal to contest in the upcoming assembly polls is drenched in nostalgia for a time when Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was intact.

She coaches her players from behind the net, boosting their spirits, to compete on her behalf in this tense political game.

Her baseline strategy?

Stay off the court, but ensure her team is ready to smash through the opposition’s defences.

PDP Youth President and its candidate for south Kashmir’s Pulwama constituency, Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra says that while Mufti might not be contesting herself, she boosts the morale of the contesting candidates of the party as well as the PDP supporters.

“Everybody in the party wanted her to contest but she is not contesting because she believes that she was the chief minister of a state which had a special status…,” he says.

In Kashmir’s political court, where the art of the “drop shot” is less about finesse and more about dropping bombshells that reverberate across the Valley, the court is crowded with players from all corners of the political spectrum.

But this is no ordinary tournament.

While some non-playing captains are coaching their team players to serve aces, others are happy to let their squad members play from the baseline and hit backhand shots to win the bigger political rallies.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, leading the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), brings his years of experience to bear, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s high command in New Delhi tosses policy decisions from afar, their influence felt with every backhand play.

BJP J&K unit’s General Secretary (Organisation) Ashok Kaul says that while senior leaders like Ram Madhav, Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, Ashish Sood, and Tarun Chugh are looking after the affairs of the party for the upcoming elections in J&K, the party high command including the BJP’s star campaigners Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are reaching out to the voters to set the ball rolling.

Like the BJP high command, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is also assuming the role of the non-playing captain for the Congress in J&K.

Senior Congress leader and former legislator Ghulam Nabi Monga says that Gandhi has a lot of love for the people of Kashmir.

“A sea of people – young and old, men, women and children, came to welcome him when he recently visited Kashmir while his Bharat Jodo Yatra was also impressive,” he says. “He is our star campaigner and connects well with the masses as he talks about Kashmir from the heart.”

Even from behind bars, Engineer Rashid, the incarcerated president of the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), manages to make his presence felt on this political court.

His absence from the court itself only seems to amplify his political voice, bringing into sharp focus the unique nature of this high-stakes game.

Rashid’s son Abrar, who successfully led his campaign in the parliamentary polls and is now campaigning for the upcoming assembly polls, says the campaign not only in north Kashmir but also in south Kashmir is witnessing massive crowds.

“Yes, Rashid Sahab is the major factor in our campaign,” he says. “This is because he has tirelessly worked for the people.”

The match might have started at love-all but the rallies are getting longer and longer.

Meanwhile, the electorate watches with bated breath as the score teeters between advantage and deuce.

As the political grand slam unfolds in J&K, a single fault may be forgiven, but a double fault could cost the entire match.

With the final set approaching, the tension is palpable. Who will emerge victorious in this most unusual of championships? Will it be the seasoned veterans, their experience guiding them through the trickiest of tiebreaks? Or will a dark horse emerge, armed with a powerful serve of fresh ideas and grassroots support?

One thing is certain: in the grand arena of Kashmiri politics, where the lines between sport and statecraft blur, there is no such thing as a simple game. Here, every point is a policy, every set a mandate, and the match itself is nothing less than the future of the region.

October 8 will determine who wins the point, game, set, match, and this grand slam called Kashmir’s political theatre.