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Ganderbal: The ignored 'prestigious' constituency

Most residents of this assembly segment claim to have seen their 'representative' only on television.

Meeting him is difficult as the militant threat to his life means people have to negotiate his formidable security apparatus, an option they prefer not to exercise.

And 'his representatives' in the constituency are busy fighting over the goodies that come with proximity to men of power.

Effectively, there is no one to listen to their woes.

This is the story of Ganderbal, which elected Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah to the state assembly.

It was from this constituency that the late Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, founder of the ruling National Conference and the chief minister's father, contested his first election after re-joining mainstream politics in 1975.

After his death in 1982, his son Farooq Abdullah won this seat in 1983 and repeated the feat in 1987 and 1996 ensuring Ganderbal remained one of the most high profile constituencies in J&K.

However, its 59,000-odd voters are not enamoured of this tag, and neither are they excited about the forthcoming assembly elections.

"The last time he (Abdullah) visited this constituency was during some election and the crowd for his meeting was brought in heavily-guarded buses from adjoining Kangan constituency," a local Abdul Hamid said.

"We are just 24 km away from Farooq's official residence in Srinagar, but the figurative distance is unimaginable. I have failed to meet him even once despite visiting his house at least a dozen times," says Ali Muhammad (55), who wants a government job for his son.

"The security personnel guarding the Gupkar residence of the chief minister never allowed me to meet him. We have scores of jobless educated youth in Ganderbal," he pointed out.

In his absence, Abdullah assigned Revenue Minister Abdul Quyoom to look after the constituency.

Quyoom, in turn, delegated the responsibility to two party workers Sheikh Ghulam Ahmad Saloora and Mohammad Ashraf.

The two are so busy fighting each other over the spoils of power that they have little time to solve people's problems, locals complain.

"Major works contracts, government jobs - the two have a hand in everything," Zahoor Ahmad, a resident of Beehama complained.

Some residents say life has not changed (for the better) since the 1996 elections. "The polls failed to bring normalcy in our area and the valley. We are not interested in the elections as they will not end the violence," said a resident Farooq Ahmad.

To make up for the chief minister's continued absence, state ministers and senior civil servants have made a spate of promises to the people.

Metal roads have come up at some places and a few healthcare facilities have been added during the last six years, but hardly enough to assure the constituents of their representative's concern about their plight.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of former Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, which has fielded a candidate, is among those hoping to capitalise on this disillusionment with Abdullah.

Ruling party supporters are aware of the hurdles. "The ground is fast slipping from under our feet. We have been telling party leaders to visit this constituency and address the problems of people. Our only hope is the absence of a potential challenger," a ruling party worker said.

On Sunday, at a marriage ceremony, bewildered locals were trying to verify the antecedents of Sheikh Abdul Rashid, BJP candidate from this constituency.

"We still don't know who this Sheikh is," said Ghulam Nabi, a resident of Saloora village.

Jammu and Kashmir Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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