Talat Majeed From Pulwama: Former Jamaat Leader's Venture Into Electoral Politics (image:x.com/talat_majid)
The banned religio-political outfit Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Kashmir has decided to field some of their former members in the forthcoming Assembly elections as independent candidates. Among the nominees, Dr Talat Majeed, former district ameer (chief) of Jamaat, will contest from Pulwama constituency.
On submitting the nomination, Majeed said that after contemplating the changing geo-political scenario since 2008, he felt the need to shun some of the past “rigidities” and need to participate in the electoral politics. Both the Jamaat and the Hurriyat had a role to play in the current political climate, he added.
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“In view of the prevalent geo-political scenario, I felt that time had come for us to take part in the political process. I have been expressing my views since 2014 very openly and I am taking that agenda forward even today,” the Daily Excelsior quotes, as Majeed is saying.
The 47-year-old Majeed is a resident of Pulwama and has been held in high regard among local social circles. He holds a doctorate in soil sciences. In 2023, he became the first ex-member of the Jamaat to enter the mainstream political arena by joining the Altaf Bukhari-led Apni Party. He has resigned from his government job as an “agriculture extension assistant” to join politics.
While addressing a group of supporters after filing the nomination, he conveyed the importance of participating in the political engagement for addressing the region’s issues and representing the aspirations of the people in the quickly evolving political landscape.
During his interaction with Indian Express, Majeed told his first priority would be to “save the youth of Kashmir.” “We can’t let them to be used as cannon fodder. I would also focus on economy and education,” he said.
The second priority would be “to seek revocation of ban on Jamaat-e-Islami,” he added.
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Jamaat has not taken part in any elections after 1987 and has been a part of separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, which recommended poll boycotts, from 1993 to 2003. However, in the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, several top leaders of the outfit cast their votes. Extending the strategic shift, former members, including the jailed hardliners, are currently entering the political arena by contesting for Assembly polls as independents.
As Jamaat has historically held significant influence in the valley, especially in the politics of South Kashmir, how their entry into mainstream politics will turn out in the upcoming elections is to look out for.
