Jammu

Indian voters never cease to throw up surprises; they did it in Inderwal, a hilly constituency in the Kishtwar district of Jammu in the recently concluded Assembly elections in the Union territory that saw the return of the National Conference to power.

Pyare Lal Sharma's victory in the Inderwal Assembly segment, located in the hinterland of J&K, defied the broader trend of voting along regional and communal lines as a Muslim-majority area elected a Hindu candidate.

Inderwal, located 250 km from Jammu, has an 80% Muslim population. The voters elected Sharma, 54, a non-Muslim public works contractor from Chattroo village, rejecting three other Muslim candidates.

A visibly emotional Sharma told a reporter that he was overwhelmed with the response of Muslim voters from his constituency and would make sure to uphold their trust.

He said that the Inderwal constituency has a 20% Hindu population, out of which only 6,000 to 7,000 votes were cast.

He said, "Out of these 6,000 votes, I got 4,000 and the rest went to BJP's account. However, the real reason for victory was the huge support of Muslims. Muslims voted for me in large numbers and I won the election." 

His interview to a local news channel has gone viral on X:

Pyare Lal Sharma, a Hindu Candidate won from an 80% Muslim Majority seat in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. Muslims voted for him en masse and made him win. He's saluting the community for voting him to power & promised to meet their expectations.pic.twitter.com/yJSZqsGFfA

— Shahid Ayoub (@shahidayoub_) October 19, 2024

Sharma's said he is all the more happy to see that he won from a Muslim Majority area against three Muslim candidates including two Hajis (Muslims who have performed Hajj pilgrimage and enjoy a social status).

"I thank them and would show my gratitude by doing better work in the area."

Like other independent candidates who won and joined the National Conference, Sharma was welcomed by the party led by Omar Abdullah. Before joining the NC, he declared to his supporters, “My promise to you was that I will never join the BP.”

It may be mentioned that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has picked one of the Independents - Satish Sharma from the Chamb constituency in the Jammu region - as his minister.

Sharma’s victory is no small achievement given that he defeated senior leader Ghulam Mohammad Saroori by 643 votes in a multi-corner and tough contest.

Sharma bagged 14,195 votes, while Saroori, who has been an MLA from this seat twice, got 13,552 votes.

Pyare lal Sharma visiting Mulwarwan where 87 houses were gutted

Sharma who has declared assets of about Rs 8 crores and liabilities of 7 crores, seems to be a people man.

People in his constituency remember that he donated generously for the reconstruction of a Madrasa building in Chatroo.

The children were sitting without a roof when Sharma visited them and he immediately donated Rs 5 lakh.

Again, Sharma was the first leader to reach the fire victims in village Mulwarwun in Kishtwar district where he announced a donation of Rs 48 lakh from his constituency fund for the rehabilitation of the victims.

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He supervised the removal of the debris of the 87 gutted houses in Mulwarwun a village in the middle of an alpine forest.