Jammu: CPM leader MY Tarigami, who campaigned for full statehood and spoke about the Centre's atrocities against Jammu & Kashmir, won for the fifth time from the Kulgam seat by defeating former head of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) member Sayar Ahmad Reshi by more than 7,800 votes.
Tarigami secured 33,634 votes and won the seat by a margin of 7,838, defeating his nearest rival, Reshi, who received 25,796 votes. With this, the CPM leader has won consecutively from the seat since 1996.
Tarigami, also a CPM Central Committee member, emphasised regaining statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. The development activities he implemented in the constituency during his previous four terms as an MLA also contributed to his victory. His victory was certain, with the National Conference and Congress throwing their weight behind Tarigami.
His campaign, during which he rode in an open vehicle accompanied by motorcycles carrying red flags, drew significant attention. He focused his campaign primarily on national issues, including the severe unemployment among Kashmiri youths and the problems faced by apple farmers.
He gained national attention after being put under house arrest for months after the Central government abrogated Article 370 and made Jammu & Kashmir a Union Territory in 2019.
With the Supreme Court's permission, the late Sitaram Yechury, then CPM General Secretary, visited Tarigami at his residence and informed the court about the plight of Kashmiris.
Tarigami, upon arriving in New Delhi, strongly advocated for restoring Kashmir's special status and statehood, which garnered national attention.
Woh, jo Tarigam wala?
Muhammad Yusuf came to be known as Tarigami after a press conference. During the press conference, a journalist from a news agency asked Sheikh Abdullah, the then Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, about Mohammed Yusuf's arrest. "Woh jo, Tarigam wala?" (Who? The one from Tarigam?) the CM asked. From then on, the media began writing his name as Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami after the village he was born in.
Tarigami, born into a farmer's family, had a turbulent childhood. The main reason was the political instability then in Kashmir. Amid a life filled with struggles, he could not complete his BA. In 1975, during the Emergency, his pregnant wife passed away while he was a political prisoner. Following this, the government granted him a month's parole. However, he was rearrested after just three days.
A popular leader
Tarigami, a former state secretary of the CPM, faced countless brutal tortures throughout his political life. He became a Communist under the influence of Abdul Kabir Wani, a former CPM leader. At 18, he, his friend, and current CPM state secretary Ghulam Nabi Malik were arrested for organising a protest demanding an increase in the intake capacity at Anantnag Degree College.
They later became part of the Revolutionary Students and Youth Federation, a local Communist group. Tarigami participated in various farmer protests in the state under the leadership of farmer leader Abdul Qadri. After joining the CPM, he became close to senior leader Ram Pyare Sarraf and became his confidant.
Tarigami's political life took a significant turn in 1967 when he was imprisoned for championing farmers' rights against the forcible rice procurement. For a period, he worked with the Naxalite group CPI Marxist-Leninist and suffered brutal torture in jail.
In 2005, then Education Minister Ghulam Nabi Lone was killed in a terrorist attack at his Tulsibagh area residence in Srinagar. Tarigami, whose house was also ambushed, survived the indiscriminate firing.
His legal fight in the Supreme Court, challenging the Union Home Ministry's order to allow people from across the country to buy land in Jammu & Kashmir, including agricultural land, was noteworthy.