PDP candidate’s rare trajectory resonates with young voters
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha seat, Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra.
Adoortodoor campaign by WaheedurRehman Parra,
34yearold Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the SrinagarBudgam seat, has kicked off an unusual bustle in the once militancydominated pockets of Pulwama, where residents still prefer to move indoors before sunset owing to heightened security measures.
Mr. Parra’s rare trajectory in Kashmir’s politics strikes a chord with many younger voters in the constituency, which goes to the polls on May 13. He was nominated as a Peace Fellow at the Yale International Leadership Centre in 2023 but denied a passport. He spent 19 months in jail, and was disallowed to take oath when elected to the District Development Council. He was also denied permission to tend to his cancerstricken father in a hospital outside J&K, with the authorities citing “security reasons”.
His plunge into the election fray was not an easy choice given the fresh offer letter he received in March from the Yale International Leadership Centre to join, “in case his impounded passport was restored”.
“Being with people, and representing and supporting them is my first priority. My jail, bail and Yale Fellow is a story of every potential young Kashmiri, and how we are branded as terrorists and antinationals, irrespective of our commitment to the cause of the Constitution,” Mr. Parra told The
Hindu.
“Jail brought me closer to reality and circumstances on the ground. It gave an idea of the pain and sufferings of the people. My jail term sums up how everything political has a lot of personal cost. Your ideology takes a toll on your own personal life,” he said.
“This election is about giving voice to people who are silently suffering and there’s a lot of vacuum on the ground. I joined the fray to break the cycle of silence,” he said.
Mr. Parra will take on a candidate from the National Conference (NC), which has a significant vote base in the constituency.