A Communist defeats an Islamist in rare Kashmir election battle

The political and electoral landscape of Jammu and Kashmir has undergone a sea change since the 1990s. One of the few constants in that ever-changing political field of Kashmir is Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, who has brought a speck of Communist Red to the green Valley.
But Tarigami wasn’t always Tarigami.
“I was arrested during Sheikh Abdullah’s tenure as [Jammu and Kashmir] Chief Minister. During a press conference, a PTI journalist, PN Jalali, asked Sheikh Abdullah about my arrest. Abdullah responded, ‘Woh Jo Tarigam Wala’, referring to my native place. From then on, I became known as Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami in the media,” CPI(M) leader Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami said, recalling his 1979 arrest.
Tarigami revealed that he wasn’t born Tarigami in an interview with Pulwama-based news outlet The Kashmir Pulse in September.
Weeks later, the veteran CPI(M) leader emerged victorious in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election. Tarigami defeated Sayar Ahmad Reshi, who was backed by the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and sought votes in the name of Islam.
South Kashmir’s Kulgam has been a CPI(M), or more specifically, a Tarigami stronghold since 1996. It didn’t matter if the Congress, National Conference, or PDP ruled in Srinagar, Kulgam always sent Tarigami.
“Haq ka hami, Tarigami (The champion of justice is Tarigami),” echoed in the streets of Kulgam on Tuesday as firecrackers and jubilant crowds greeted Tarigami, who waved at his supporters from atop a car.
Despite his rival being backed by the Jamaat-e-Islami, Tarigami held the Communist flag high and clinched Kulgam for the fifth straight term.
Reshi, his rival, had said that his potential loss would be seen as a defeat for Islam itself.
The contest in Kulgam saw an intense electoral race, with Tarigami facing off against Sayar Ahmad Reshi, a candidate backed by the banned Jamaat-e-Islami.
This was the first time since the 1980s that the Jamaat, known for its socio-religious radicalism, participated in the electoral process in the region. Previously, the radical outfit boycotted electoral democracy for nearly three decades. It was banned by the Centre in 2019.
Reshi, was among the 10 Jamaat-backed Independent candidates who contested the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly poll, according to a report in The Indian Express.
The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), which includes parties like the National Conference, Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party, and the CPI(M), supported Tarigami as their consensus candidate.
Out of the 85 elected seats that went to polls, the CPI(M) contested one, Kulgam.
However, the entry of Reshi into the fray brought a new dynamic to the election, with the Jamaat leveraging its significant grassroots support and ideological appeal.
A Jamaat-backed Independent, Sayar Ahmad Reshi, during his campaign had suggested that his potential defeat in the Assembly election would be interpreted as a defeat for Islam itself, reported Kashmir [Dot] Com.
“If, God forbid, I lose tomorrow, people won’t say that Sayar Ahmad lost, but that Islam lost,” Reshi said in a campaign rally in September.
He further flaunted religion by adding, “It will be said that the followers of Islam, those who recite Adhaan (the first Islamic call to prayer), lost”.
His appeal invoking Islam reflected the high stakes he linked to his candidacy, according to a report in the UK-based Kashmiriyat.
Tarigami’s victory in Kulgam has been hailed as a powerful stand on “democracy and secularism” by his party.
“Comrade Tarigami’s victory in Kulgam is a powerful stand for democracy and secularism. Despite the combined efforts of Jamaat-e-Islami and BJP, the people of Kulgam chose to stand with the CPI(M) and the values we uphold. A victory for justice and the people’s voice,” P Rajeev, Kerala Law Minister wrote on X.

The CPI(M) X handle congratulated Tarigami for his win in Kulgam.

Tarigami, now a five-time MLA from Kulgam, has been a stalwart of Communist politics in a region dominated by religious and regional forces.
Born in 1949, Tarigami’s entered politics early, influenced by the communist farmer’s leader, Abdul Kabir Wani. At 18, he was involved in a students’ protest to demand an intake hike at Anantnag Degress College. Later, he also lent his support to several student and farmer movements during the 1960s and 1970s in Jammu and Kashmir.
It was in 1979, that, following the execution of former Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, riots erupted in Kashmir, and Tarigami was put behind bars. During the unrest, Sheikh Abdullah confronted the Marxists, and Tarigami became one of the first leaders of the left to be detained under the contentious Public Safety Act (PSA). It was in the aftermath of the arrest that ‘Tarigami’ found a true place in the name of Mohammed Yousuf. Even his election affidavit carries the title’ Tarigami’ following his name.
In 2019, when Article 370 was revoked and Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to a Union Territory, Tarigami was placed under house arrest in Srinagar for 35 days.
While in detention, an ailing Tarigami was permitted to shift to AIIMS after his colleague Sitaram Yechury filed a plea in the Supreme Court.
Tarigami was also a part of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, an alliance of regional parties in Jammu and Kashmir that said it was “committed” to the restoration of Article 370.
Tarigami’s election campaign focused on his long-standing commitment to the people of Kulgam. During the campaign he spoke about the development work he has undertaken during his tenure. He, however, stressed the improvement in infrastructure, such as the construction of roads, schools, and hospitals in his constituency.
In contrast, Reshi’s campaign was centred around the restoration of statehood and the guarantees under Article 370, with the invocation of Islam at the centre. In the end, it was the development push that won against the Islamist pitch, and Communist Tarigami remained a constant in Kashmir’s political landscape.