Yusuf, a former ASI, joined the party in 1996 and has so far contested three elections. He says it was after a lot of thought that he joined the party. “It was the voice of my conscience, as I love Kashmir. Other parties have given us 80,000 graves. The BJP is the only party that can be trusted”.

He claims that his efforts have helped the party gain ground in Kashmir. “From the time when getting a candidate to contest was a problem, to this election when we have four to five people as prospective candidates for each of the 47 constituencies, it’s been a long way,” he says.

Besides him, 26 Muslim candidates and six Kashmiri Pandits are in the fray. “We are focusing on just 10 seats and are sure to win five,” he says.

But when it comes to the rhetoric on Malegaon and Sadhvi Pragya, the tone of the Kashmir BJP becomes similar to that of the party bosses in Delhi. “The BJP’s problem is misinformation. It’s the Congress that is playing poll politics. Look at the timing,” says Mohad Sadiq Khan, vice-president of the Kashmir unit.