By KO Political Desk
Srinagar- Addressing an election rally in North Kashmir recently, the National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah told the gathering that his party won’t ally with the BJP after the elections, come what may.
He had a warning for his party too: “If anyone in the NC, either a small worker or a topmost leader, even thinks of going along with the BJP, he will have to first face me first. I guarantee this.”
The gathering reverberated with loud applause for him.
Ever since Ruhullah won the parliamentary election from Srinagar earlier this year, after polling 3,56,866 votes against his nearest competitor PDP candidate Waheed ur Rehman Parra who secured 1,68,450 votes, the NC leader has emerged as one of the most conspicuous faces of the NC. His speeches in the parliament in which he often lashes out at the BJP’s policies towards J&K have gone viral.
This has not just raised his political profile, but his words now carry more conviction, making him a star campaigner for the NC.
Since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, Ruhullah’s politics has been defined by a deep sense of hurt about New Delhi’s far-reaching move. And he has made no secret of how he has felt, in his speeches, utterances and social media posts.
His pinned tweet on X, “The axe forgets, but the tree remembers,” is widely interpreted as a response to the abrogation of Article 370.
In the ongoing Assembly election, Ruhullah has been drawing large crowds wherever he goes campaigning, sometimes much more than the contesting candidates. In recent rallies he has pitted himself against Engineer Rashid, whose wild card entry into the poll process has disrupted the poll calculations of various parties.
Campaigning for the NC’s candidate for Lal Chowk Ehsan Pardesi on Tuesday, Ruhullah said he wished Rashid fought BJP in Jammu. “Why Kashmir? This is to divide votes and nothing else. Primary focus is to divide the votes of the NC,” he said.
He, however, stayed short of calling Rashid an agent, saying let people decide.
“I won’t judge him, let people judge and take a call accordingly whether he is a proxy,” Ruhullah said.
Going forward, Ruhullah is likely to emerge as a key voice in the post-poll scenario. It will be interesting to see his stance in the wake of a hung house, and more importantly in the event that the BJP does better in Jammu, positioning it to form government with support from the major Valley-origin parties like the NC and the PDP, or with the backing from smaller parties and the independents. Whatever the outcome, Ruhullah will be one of the most important J&K leaders to watch.
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