'Dabangg Aunty': The First Kashmiri Pandit Woman To Contest J&K Assembly Polls After 32 Years

Dear Reader,

Sharan and Ankit have sent back a fascinating report from the poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir on the 'Dabangg Aunty' who is becoming the first Kashmiri Pandit woman to contest the J&K assembly elections in 32 years when the community was forced out of the valley by Islamists.

What's Happening: Daisy Raina, presently a sarpanch in Pulwama's Frisal village, is contesting the election from the Rajpora assembly constituency as a candidate of Republican Party of India (Athawale), an NDA coalition partner.

• And she says that her voters wish for her to become a chief minister just for a day — just like Anil Kapoor in the movie Nayak.

My colleagues describe how the navy blue banners of the RPI(A) carry three people's faces on them — Dr B R Ambedkar, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, and Daisy Raina.

Key Issues: Raina is one of the nine women candidates contesting in the first phase of the J&K polls — five from Kashmir and the other four from Jammu.

• Empowering Kashmiri women by securing more freedom, taking up roles in various sectors, and aspiring to the same liberties as in other cities like Mumbai.

The Bigger Picture: Locals, now benefiting from government schemes like Ayushman Bharat, are showing renewed interest in voting, seeing tangible improvements in healthcare and other services.

• After decades of militancy, youth in Pulwama are actively participating in rallies, signaling hope for higher voter turnout in this critical election.

Dive Deeper: Read this ground report by Ankit and Sharan for detailed profile of Daisy Raina and a more in-depth understanding of the changing dynamics in Jammu and Kashmir’s politics given the upcoming polls in the UT — the first after abrogation of Article 370.

Until tomorrow,

Anmol N Jain