With a massive mandate behind his back, fulfilling people’s aspirations would be a challenging task for new MLA Haveli Ajaz Jan; Poonch Haveli always denied a cabinet berth, Will CM Omar Abdullah intervene?
SALIL RAINA
(POONCH TODAY NEWS)
POONCH: Newly elected MLA Haveli Ajaz Jan has created history by taking 41,807 votes with a 42% plus vote share, but despite taking a record number of votes, never taken by anyone in the history of Poonch elections, Jan was not blessed with a cabinet berth. Considered a loyal lieutenant of the party, the Jan family dominated the Poonch Haveli politics for nearly three decades and won the constituency four times.
Late G.M. Jan took 16,150 votes in the 1996 assembly elections with 39.62% vote share. He defeated Late Yashpaul Sharma, who took 10,722 votes, while Late Ch. Bashir Naaz got 10,547 votes. In the 2002 assembly elections, Late G.M. Jan, in a straight contest with the then Congress candidate Late Yashpaul Sharma, got 27,364 votes with 47.41% of the vote share, while Yashpaul Sharma got 26,718 votes with 46.3%. However, after the death of Late G.M. Jan, Jahangir Mir won the 2007 by-elections as a Congress candidate by taking 20,697 votes. The late Yashpaul Sharma, who fought as an independent candidate, got 16,299 votes, while Ajaz Jan, who fought for the first time, stood third by taking 16,227 votes. Shah Mohd Tantray got 7,935 votes. However, in the 2008 assembly elections, Ajaz Jan took 28,297 votes with 39.62% of the vote share. In the 2014 assembly elections, the then PDPs winning candidate Shah Mohd Tantray took 19,488 votes, while Ajaz Jan got 15,976 votes. But during the recently held assembly elections, Ajaz Jan took a record number of 41,807 votes in an almost one-sided contest with 42.72% of the vote share. Despite taking a record number of 41,807 votes, young Ajaz Jan couldn’t break the record of his father, who took 47.41% vote share in the 2002 assembly elections. The data available with “POONCH TODAY” shows that the Jan family continuously dominated Poonch politics for nearly three decades with around 40% of vote share. Despite having a massive record in favor of the National Conference, the Jan family was never blessed with a cabinet berth. In the politics of Poonch district, Surankote and Mendhar assembly constituencies got opportunities to get a cabinet berth a number of times, but the Poonch Haveli constituency never blessed with a cabinet berth for decades, and it’s a cause of big concern for the voters of Poonch Haveli, opine political pundits. However, Young Jan has a number of challenges lying ahead from a development point of view. After taking oath as MLA, Jan visited Raja Sukhdev Singh Hospital Poonch and took stock of facilities provided to the patients. He also issued on-the-spot directions to the concerned officers to strengthen facilities in the hospital. There are a number of important issues on which Ajaz Jan has to work, like alternative circular roads for the Poonch city as the only main road is overloaded as there are no alternate roads in the city. For years, the issue of circular roads remained in the limelight, but no action has been taken yet. As a result, the main road has become highly congested. Strengthening infrastructure in rural areas, posting of specialized doctors, brining Poonch on the tourism map, poor condition of Mandi-Chandak road, damaged Nangali sahib bridge, illegal encroachments at various places including government assets, illegal construction in “Red Zone,” no master plan for Poonch, poor water and power supply, ration issues, rising unemployment among the educated youth, and a number of public issues are coming every day on which Ajaz Jan has to work on priority. Poonch Haveli has blessed the Jan family with victory four times, so the onus lies on Ajaz Jan to fulfill all the genuine expectations of the people. It doesn’t matter whether Ajaz Jan was given a cabinet berth or not. As a trusted soldier of Abdullahs, Jan has to raise the developmental standard of his constituency in addition to meeting the expectations of the people. But as far as cabinet berth for Poonch Haveli is concerned, which was ignored for decades, it’s time for the ruling dispensation to think over this because only three leaders enjoyed the MOS/Deputy Minister statues from the Poonch Haveli, and they were Late M.D. Bandey, Late G.M. Mir Poonchi, and Late G.A. Ganai. Both G.M. Mir Poonchi and M.D. Bandey were elite educated leaders of their time. The late Mohd Din Bandey also remained Vice-Chairman of the Pahari advisory board after the 1996 assembly elections, but as far as cabinet berth was concerned, Poonch haveli was ignored time and again, particularly during the last few decades, while Surankote and Mendhar constituencies enjoyed cabinet berth various times. Late Choudhary Mohd Aslam, Late Lal Mohd Sabar, Nisar Ahmed, and Late Rafiq Khan enjoyed the cabinet berth, and now the latest is the inclusion of Javed Ahmed Rana from Mendhar in the newly elected Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s cabinet. Now, with more than 41,807 votes taken by the National Conference, Poonch Haveli deserves to be recognized in the cabinet because the Haveli constituency was always ignored for a cabinet berth, which shows that a huge injustice was done with this elite constituency of the border district. It’s high time for the Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, who is known for his straightforward approach, to address the sentiments of the people of Poonch Haveli, who were ignored for decades by various governments. Will the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah intervene into the most genuine issue for the people of Poonch Haveli constituency? Only time will tell.