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Beg sure to give Soz a tough time in Baramullah

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

The spotlight is now on Anantnag and Baramullah, the two parliamentary constituencies in Kashmir which go to the polls on Saturday, March 7.

Baramullah, comprising 15 assembly segments with a total of 756,997 votes, has 29 candidates in the fray. But it is a direct contest, all the same, between Union Environment Minister Saifuddin Soz fielded by the National Conference and Muzzaffar Hussain Beg, an Independent candidate.

Beg, a prominent Supreme Court advocate, has succeeded in gathering enough support to give his prominent opponent a tough time. His support comes from unexpected quarters, including that from Rafiabad Janata Dal legislator Dilawar Mir and state Congress general secretary Taj Mohi-ud-din. While Mir has contained himself with wholehearted support to Beg and, to an extent, running his campaign, the Congress leader, who joined Beg recently, has gone a step ahead -- he goes around saying that Abdul Gani Vakil, his own party candidate, is a 'dummy'! Mohi-ud-din is known to have quite a bit of influence over the Pahari votes from the constituency.

Congress president Sitaram Kesri, meanwhile, has reportedly sought an explanation about his activities through Congress observer Tariq Anwar.

On the other side of Beg's support axis is the People's Conference headed by Abdul Ghani Lone. Although Lone is a leader of the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference which boycotted the polls, his partymen are actively believed to be garnering support for Beg. The Independent, it must be mentioned, had begun his political career with the People's Conference and was its general secretary in 1981.

"Except for the top leaders," Beg claimed in a recent press conference, "the mass of the APHC is helping my campaign."

Though the APHC denied the claim outright, there is no doubting the fact that given a chance the grassroot activists would all come out against the ruling NC who, they say, 'let loose a reign of terror'.

The NC, thus, has no option but take Beg's challenge seriously. Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah has just concluded a whirlwind tour of Baramullah.

Elections '98

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