Srinagar: Detained on the eve of reading down of Article 370 by the Central government in August 2019, many individuals who spent months in different jails under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA) have joined the poll battleground in Jammu and Kashmir to become members of district development councils (DDCs). While the reasons for them to take a plunge into the electoral arena may vary, every one of them asks why were they detained and kept in jails for months when they had done nothing wrong.They were described as “threat to peace” by the state administration to justify their detentions, even though they were affiliated with mainstream political parties – which have repeatedly denounced Kashmiri separatist groups since the conflict began. Many such former detainees are candidates of the region’s major political parties and have a fair chance of winning elections.Also read: Gupkar Alliance Makes a Consequential Decision: Finding Answers Through the Democratic ProcessShabir Ahmad Lone (PAGD)Forty-five-year-old Shabir Ahmad Lone, who is associated with the National Conference, is the candidate of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) from the Rohama territorial constituency of the Baramulla district council. The PAGD is an alliance of National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, People’s Conference, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and other smaller parties.Lone was detained hours before the BJP-led Central government read down Article 370 and approved the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory. He was later booked under the PSA by the Baramulla district administration and kept in Srinagar central jail.Lone told The Wire that he was “illegally” detained under PSA. “I fail to understand why I was booked under PSA. What was my fault or crime? Why did I spend six months in jail?” he asked.His PSA dossier said that Lone had started propagating “anti-national feelings among the masses” against the Centre’s decision to read down Article 370. He is actively involved in campaigning against this decision by provoking and mobilising the masses,” the dossier said. The PSA dossier also accused him of “devising a new strategy of disturbing the public order by instigating the general public to resort to violence and to create surcharged circumstances.”“You were found to be the main limb for spreading anti-national sentiments among the populace of Rafiabad and Sopore in order to vitiate peaceful atmosphere,” it further stated.His detention was revoked by the home department earlier this year.Speaking with The Wire, Lone said that he is contesting the elections to keep the BJP and its “proxies” away from Kashmir. “Our battle is against BJP and ‘its B-team’ Apni Party. The government thought that all the regional political parties in Kashmir will boycott polls and they will fill the DDCs with members of the BJP and Apni Party. I am hopeful that people will support PAGD and vote for me to defeat the enemies of Kashmir,” he said.Lone, who is a close associate of former minister and National Conference’s Baramulla district president, Javaid Ahmad Dar, said: “Our area has been neglected in the past six years. I will take the development agenda forward from where we (National Conference) had left it in 2014.”Also read: J&K DDC Polls: Despite Gupkar Alliance, Parties Are Fielding Proxy CandidatesZahoor Ahmad Mir (Apni Party)The main rival of Shabir Ahmad Lone in the election is Zahoor Ahmad Mir, who is the nephew of former minister and Apni Party leader Mohammad Dilawar Mir.Zahoor was also detained in August 2019 and was lodged in the district jail in Lucknow before the government revoked his the PSA order in January 2020.“I was picked up by the police from my home on August 7 and kept at the SOG camp in Rafiabad for the next two days. Then, I was kept at the Tarzoo police station and central jail [in Jammu and Kashmir] for one night each. Later, I along with many other detainees were ferried in a helicopter to Uttar Pradesh to lodge us there,” he said.Zahoor, who is contesting on behalf of the Apni Party, said that he will work for the development of the area but refuses to comment on the bigger issues confronting Kashmir. “I cannot say anything about it. These are bigger issues and top leaders can comment on it. This election is all about development,” he said.Zahoor said that the PSA detentions of August 2019 were an injustice to the youth of Kashmir. “I am one of the victims. What can I do now?” he asked.Leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party. Photo: Twitter/@ApnipartyonlineMir Hafizullah (PAGD)Fifty-five-year-old Mir Hafizullah, who is fighting the DDC election from Mawar Qalamabad as a candidate of the PAGD, was also detained hours before the Central government read down Article 370. Subsequently, he was detained under the PSA and lodged in the Ambedkar Nagar jail in Uttar Pradesh on August 20.Hafizullah, who is a close associate of the People’s Conference chief Sajad Gani Lone, said that he is fighting the election to restoring the “honour and dignity of Kashmir”.Also read: J&K: Are ‘Security Restrictions’ Being Used to Give BJP DDC Candidates an Upper Hand?“I will also restore honour and dignity of every local of my area who has been humiliated and exploited by politicians over the decades,” he said, adding that he will work to upgrade the infrastructure in education and health sectors in the area.Mir said there was no justification for the authorities to slap the PSA on him. “I still don’t understand why I was arrested and lodged in jail, hundreds of kilometres away from my home. The government’s action against me was totally unjustified. Is being part of a mainstream party a crime in Kashmir?” he asked.