J&K’s ace swimmer looks to sink Omar’s poll hopes | India News

GANDERBAL: An ace swimmer is aiming to drown NC stalwart Omar Abdullah‘s electoral hopes in Ganderbal, his family bastion. The “legend” of Bashir Mir, PDP‘s candidate, is that he often plunges into the choppy waters of Sind river to rescue people without caring for his own life.
The buzz is: If someone stakes his life for others, he would be there for his voters. “I am the No 1.I will win. They all know Bashir and that he is a good man,” Mir tells TOI.
Mir: Omar has done little for Ganderbal despite being CM
From Kangan – Mir’s hometown – to the end of Ganderbal, right to the edge of Hazratbal in Srinagar, people only talk about Mir’s skill in water. “Parvah nahin karta… kapde utarta hai aur darya mein kood jata hai… kitne log bachaye, kitne laash nikali (Without caring for his own life, he jumps into the river… He has saved so many people… Fished out so many bodies),” people tell TOI. It is as if the flowing waters of “nallah Sind” carry Mir’s gallant tales across J&K.
Kangan is on the route of Amarnath Yatra and Sonmarg. “People throng here. There are accidents. Someone slips while bathing. Sometimes vehicles fall into the river,” Mir says, adding SDRF and NDRF enlist his support in tricky situations. “I am the expert. When they cannot go in or fail, they call Bashir and he dives in,” he tells TOI.
According to the 48-year-old youth neta of PDP, over the past 20 years, he has taken out 70 bodies and rescued 22 people. “Am famous for it,” he says, but also complains that “govt never acknowledged me or gave me any award”.
Mir contested twice from neighbouring Kangan and lost narrowly in 2014 to NC stalwart Mian Altaf. Post-delimitation, the seat was reserved for STs, forcing Mir to migrate. Ganderbal has been the family bastion of the Abdullahs. But the man to raise the temperature in the hot seat is calm personified. Mir claims the young Abdullah did little for Ganderbal despite being CM, a line echoed by many poor of the constituency.
Mir asks, “Did you not see the videos of Omar turning his cap into a bowl begging for votes? Why do you think he is fighting from two seats now? Everyone wants Bashir to be given a chance.”
NC is banking on its organisational infrastructure and resources to tide over the challenge. Over three generations, NC has created lifelong supporters. “I always voted for National. Omar will win,” says a 60-year-old man. But Abdul Qadar, an NC worker, feels it is a tough fight.
Given that PDP is in a tough election this year, will it not hurt Mir despite his popularity? He shoots back, “People will vote for Bashir.”