It Is PDP Versus NC In Pulwama
Pulwama, a general category Assembly seat, is part of the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency. The major contenders for the seat are Mohammad Khalil Bandh from the National Conference (NC) and Waheed ur Rehman Parra from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
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Khalil Bandh, who earlier belonged to the PDP, has represented the Pulwama constituency thrice: in 2002, 2008, and 2014. In the 2014 elections, Bandh won the seat by defeating NC candidate Ghulam Nabi Wani by a margin of 1032 votes.
In 2019, Bandh, one of the founding members of the PDP, left the party, accusing its leadership of neglecting and humiliating the old leaders. After four days of exit, Bandh joined the NC.
He was a close aide of the late Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, and served Minister of State for Public Works (Roads & Buildings) during his term. Bandh was one of the few senior PDP leaders who stayed with PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti after the demise of party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in 2016. He has also served as the Pulwama district president of the party.
Waheed Parra, PDP’s youth wing president, is a staunch advocate of people’s rights and self-representation. His efforts in strengthening democracy and peace in Kashmir are greatly appreciated.
Parra served as secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council from 2016 to 2018 and as a political analyst to the late PDP founder and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti Muhammad Sayed. He is considered a close confidant of PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.
On November 25, 2020, Parra was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and only after 18 months, May 25, 2022, he got released from jail.
While in prison, he won the District Development Council (DDC) election from his home turf, Pulwama, in 2020 as his family campaigned on his behalf. During the Lok Sabha election earlier this year, he contested from Srinagar constituency and lost to NC candidate Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi.
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The political character of the constituency has been developed by the PDP and NC. NC won the seat four times, and PDP three times; only in 1972 Congress ever won the constituency. Meanwhile, in the forthcoming polls, Congress and NC are in alliance. In the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Pulwama, along with 23 other constituencies, go to booths on September 18.
