*Most turncoats joined parties in last 2 years
Amogh Rohmetra
JAMMU, Sept 23: Across the four major political parties— BJP, Congress, People’s Democratic Party and National Conference— at least 47 turncoat candidates have been fielded in 2024 Assembly polls, who recently switched parties, changing their loyalties from their older parties.
Click Here To Join Daily Excelsior on WhatsApp And Get Latest News
Apart from them, three leaders have also rejoined their parties as the elections came closer, having stayed away from the party earlier.
As many as 31 of these 50 candidates have joined their current political party only in the last two years, which was also a cause of rebellion on some seats.
For Excelsior’s analysis, turncoat has been defined as a political leader who changed party, post 2014 Assembly polls.
By percentage, Congress has the highest number of turncoats. More than a quarter of its candidates (28%) have recently left other parties to join Congress. The list of at least 11 turncoats (out of 39) is led by the party’s current UT president, Tariq Hameed Karra who left PDP and joined the party in 2017. However, he is a rare exception, having switched parties before 2019. All other 10 turncoats joined Congress in the last two years. Congress has mostly drawn talent from smaller regional parties.
At least four of these Congress turncoats are from DPAP. They left Congress when former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad formed his own party— Democratic Progressive Azad Party— in 2022. However, former Deputy CM Tara Chand (Chhamb), former Congress chief Peerzada Mohd Sayeed (Anantnag) and former party vice president Haji Abdul Rashid Dar (Sopore) rejoined the party in 2023. Whereas, former Minister Manohar Lal Sharma (Billawar) joined the party earlier this year. Except Sayeed, all three have previously represented the constituencies they are fighting from. In fact Dar won Sopore on Congress ticket in 2014.
Meanwhile, the party has attracted three candidates from Aam Aadmi Party in the Jammu region, which was at one point seen to be gaining ground. Former Minister Yashpal Kundal and DDC member from Suchetgarh Taranjit Singh Tony, who joined Congress in 2023, leaving behind AAP, are set to fight from Ramgarh and Bahu seats respectively. Party’s candidate from Inderwal, Sheikh Zafarullah, too joined earlier this year, leaving AAP.
Other three turncoats in Congress’ list are also former Congressmen. Former Minister Chaudhary Lal Singh left the party in 2014 after he was denied the Lok Sabha ticket. He won 2014 Assembly polls from the same seat (Basohli) on a BJP ticket, only to return earlier this year, ahead of national elections. Party’s Reasi candidate and former MLA Mumtaz Khan left the party to join Apni party in 2020. However, he returned to the party after elections were announced. Few days before filing his nominations, former Bandipora MLA Nizamuddin Bhat also joined Congress. He parted ways with PDP in 2019 and was most recently a member of PC.
The BJP too has fielded several high profile defectors. Party has fielded at least 13 turncoats (out of 62 candidates), apart from Katra candidate Baldev Raj Sharma and Udhampur West candidate Pawan Gupta, who rejoined after being expelled in 2014. Both were expelled after they rebelled following denial of tickets.
Of these 15 candidates, 12 turncoats are from the Jammu region. BJP faced a revolt after the tickets were announced by the party leadership, including for tickets being given to turncoats.
Two-thirds of these 15 candidates are from either NC or Congress. The most prominent defectors from the National Conference are former NC provincial president Devinder Singh Rana (Nagrota) and senior leader Surjeet Singh Slathia (Samba). Both joined BJP in 2021. Other turncoats from NC include former Minister Syed Mushtaq Ahmad Bukhari (Surankote) in 2024, former MLA Thakur Randhir Singh (Kalakote-Sunderbani) in 2020, and Rajpora candidate Arshid Bhat in 2023.
The most prominent defector from Congress is former Minister Sham Lal Sharma (Jammu North), who switched in 2019. The same year, Prof. Gharu Ram (Suchetgarh) also switched sides. Others who joined BJP from Congress include Channapora candidate Hilal Ahmad Wani, Mendhar candidate and former MLC Murtaza Khan, and Thannamandi candidate Mohd Iqbal Malik.
Former Gurez MLA Faqir Mohammad Khan, who left PDP to join BJP in 2020, is set to contest from the same constituency. Former UT president of Panthers Party Balwant Singh Mankotia, who was later expelled from AAP, joined BJP in 2020 and is set to contest from Chenani. On the other hand former minister Chowdhury Zulfkar left Apni Party and joined BJP, days after elections were announced by the Election Commission last month. He is set to contest from Budhal.
While Congress and BJP have fielded the highest percentage of turncoats, PDP has also fielded amongst the highest number of such candidates in absolute terms. Of at least 15 turncoats, most have joined the party only in 2024. The party has fielded 82 candidates.
After the collapse of the BJP-PDP Government in 2018, Mehbooba Mufti led PDP has faced an exodus of sorts with several senior leaders leaving the party. The most significant exodus was led by former minister Altaf Bukhari, who formed his own party— Apni Party— in 2020.
However, at least five of the turncoats returned to PDP right before the elections, having deserted the party earlier. Former Rajya Sabha MP Fayaz Ahmad Mir rejoined the party ahead of Lok Sabha polls to fight the elections, having been in People’s conference for the past three years. He finished fourth in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency and is now set to fight from Kupwara.
Former Minister Syed Bashir Ahmed (Rajpora) and Basharat Bukhari (Wagoora Kreeri) too rejoined the party earlier this year. Ahmed made his flip-flop within a span of a few months of joining the Apni Party. Bukhari first joined NC in 2018 and then Peoples Conference in 2021 before rejoining PDP this year. Similarly, Eidgah candidate Mohd Khursheed Alam left PC and Thannamandi candidate Qamar Hussain Choudhary left Apni Party earlier this year to fight elections on PDP ticket.
The only major PDP candidate who had turned coats pre-2019 is Master Tasaduq Hussain from Rajouri. He joined the party in 2018, leaving behind the Congress party.
Two years after resigning from the party, former Minister Abdul Haq Khan made a re-entry into PDP ahead of elections and is set to fight from Lolab in Kupwara district on a PDP ticket for a third consecutive time.
Nearly half of (7 of 16) joinees embraced PDP only after the announcement of elections. Apart from Syed Bashir Ahmed, Qamar Hussain Choudhary and Haq Khan, party’s Khan Sahib candidate Manzoor Ahmed Wani (left PC), Kokernag candidate Haroon Rashid Khatana (left DPAP), Beerwah candidate Haji Gh Ahmed Khan (left NC) and Rafiabad candidate Altaf Ahmed Malik (left Congress) joined PDP after election dates were announced.
Other PDP turncoats include Mohd Amin Dar (Kulgam), Shabir Ahmad Mir (Gulmarg), Adv Haq Nawaz (Nowshera) and Vicky Kumar Dogra (Bishnah). Apart from Dogra, 11 of these PDP candidates are from Kashmir region and three in Rajouri district.
Though lesser in number, NC too has not shied away from fielding turncoats. At least nine out of 55 NC candidates are turncoats. Seven have been associated with PDP in the recent past. PDP founding members Mohammad Khalil Band, Mehboob Iqbal (Bhaderwah) and Irshad Rasool Kar (Sopore), all joined NC, a year after BJP-PDP collapsed in 2018. Others from PDP include former MLC Javid Mirchal in 2024 and Saifuddin Bhat in 2020.
Party’s Nowshera candidate and a former MLC Surinder Choudhary, ended his yearlong association with BJP to join NC last year. Before that, he was also a PDP member. In Nagrota, once a party stronghold, the party has given mandate to Joginder Singh Kaku, also a former BJP leader.
Former MLA and party’s Baramulla candidate Javid Beig was associated with Apni Party before joining the party in 2024. Prior to the Apni Party, Beig won 2014 Assembly polls on a PDP ticket in Baramulla. NC’s Vijaypur candidate Rajesh Pargotra left AAP after elections were announced, to join NC.
Notably, NC has relied on turncoats in Bhaderwah, Sopore and Nagrota, where the party is in friendly fight with its ally, Congress.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
