Kulgam, around 67 kilometre south of Srinagar, has been a Left bastion in Jammu and Kashmir since 1996 when the constituency sent Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami to the state assembly. The stalwart communist leader has since then represented the seat for the four consecutive terms.
The 2024 elections results also didn’t spring a surprise. Tarigami won the seat by a margin of more than 7,800 votes.
However, what made his victory significant this time is the presence of Sayar Ahmad Reshi, a member of banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), in the fray. According to reports, there were vigorous attempts to polarise votes with Reshi claiming in his campaign speeches that if he lost, “it would be the defeat of Islam”.
The hardline group was also keen to leverage the abrogation of Article 370 and the downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir to a union territory. However, the Muslim-dominated seat chose to ignore communal politics and give the Left party another term.
Tarigami received 33,390 votes, while Reshi garnered 25,639 votes. A total of ten candidates contested the Kulgam constituency, but Tarigami’s consistent influence and popularity in the region once again secured his hold on the seat.
Who is Tarigami?
A member of the CPI(M) central committee, Tarigami has previously represented the Kulgam seat in 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014. He’s the convener of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, an alliance of J&K parties which campaign for autonomy for the region and restoration of Article 370.
Born in a farmer family in 1949, Tarigami was attracted to communist ideology at the age of 18 when he, along with his friend Ghulam Nabi Malik, organised a protest to demand an increase in intake capacity at Anantnag Degree College.
Later, he took part in several farmers’ movements in Jammu and Kashmir. He was jailed in 1967 for leading a farmers protest against the forcible procurement of rice. He was imprisoned again in 1975 when he campaigned for right for self determination to Kashmiri people. His wife died when he was in jail.
What’s in a name?
Tarigami is in fact the name of the village in Kulgam district where Mohamad Yousuf was born. In a media interaction, a journalist asked then chief minister Sheikh Abdullah about Mohamad Yousuf’s arrest. “Woh Jo Tarigam Wala,” the chief minister responded referring to his native place. Since then, the newspapers started writing his name as Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami.
With inputs from Tariq Bhat
