It was supposed to be two people fighting each other to victory, until separatist leader Sajad Ghani Lone entered the ring making it a free for all contest to the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat.
The entry of Lone, the second son of slain separatist leader Abdul Ghani Lone, has added spice to the contest in the segment considered to be a stronghold of National Conference, at least on paper. That the PDP is gaining ground in the district 55 km northwest of here is no secret.
Observers are guessing as to why Lone, who heads the People's Conference, took a big gamble to contest when chances of his victory in the presence of NC and its arch rival, PDP, are bleak.
In the assembly elections held last year, Lone's sister Shabnam Lone lost from Kupwara assembly constituency and another of his close lieutenant, Sofi Ghulam Mohiuddin from Handwara are an indicator that Lone will have to get extraordinary support for a berth in Lok Sabha.
However, Lone's presence may eat into the vote bank of the National Conference, which has put up Sharifuddin Shariq to take on PDP's Mohammad Dilawar Mir.
Political and independent observers believe the Lone factor can erode the votes of NC in Kupwara district, where the People's Conference has a strong support base. If the assembly results are to be followed closely, none of the political parties is in an advantageous position in the constituency.
Of the 15 seats spread over Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipora district in Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, the NC won seven seats, closely followed by PDP which netted five seats.
The remaining three seats went to Congress, Democratic Party Nationalist (DPN) President Ghulam Hassan Mir and an independent Abdul Rashid Sheikh.
Sheikh, a staunch supporter of Lone, contested the assembly elections against the wishes of Lone and won.While NC maintained its dominance in Kupwara by winning three of the five assembly seats (the other two seats were shared by PDP and an independent), the PDP has gained considerably in Baramulla and Bandipora districts winning four seats, the same number won by NC in the two districts.
The founder of People's Conference late Abdul Ghani Lone had represented Karnah and Handwara constituencies before he joined the separatist camp.
Lone, who was assassinated by militants on May 21, 2002, had won from Handwara in 1967, 1972 and 1977 and from Karnah in 1983.
In 2004 Parliamentary elections, Abdul Rashid Shaheen of NC had won the seat by defeating his nearest rival Nizamuddin Bhat of PDP by a margin of just 9,895 votes.
