Only four of 15 rebels post a win

Leaders of the People's Conference were disappointed with the election results, as only four of the 15 independents they had supported won – and only one of them was from Kupwara, the Lone family's home district.

The sons of Abdul Ghani Lone, who founded the People's Conference, had hoped that seven or eight of those they had covertly backed would win. After their father's assassination on May 21, they were determined to chart a different course from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, on the executive of which their party has a place.

The 15 had declared themselves part of a common forum on October 7 in preparation to negotiate for an important part of the coalition that many expected to be formed after these elections.

As it turned out, only Ghulam Mohiuddin Sofi won the Handwara seat from Kupwara district. He is therefore the only independent in the new house that the Lone brothers can count on.

The other three are Hakim Mohammed Yasin from Khansaheb constituency, Usman Majid from Bandipora and Raman Mattoo from Habba Kadal.

None of them has been associated with the People's Conference.

Veteran politician Hakim Yasin had split from the National Conference in 1984 to back Farooq Abdullah's brother-in-law, G.M. Shah.

Raman Mattoo, a Pandit, had hoped to be given a National Conference ticket since his late father-in-law, Pyare Lal Handoo, was a leading minister and leader of the NC.

Usman Majid won on a Jammu and Kashmir Awami League, a party largely of former militants. He was once Deputy Chief Commander of the Ikhwan-ul Muslimeen and then a leading light of the groups that worked in tandem with the army to defeat the Hizbul Mujahideen.

People's Conference sources said their proxy candidate had been deprived of the Kupwara seat through rigging but it was actually a close contest.

They also lost the Lolab seat owing to sympathy for the National Conference candidate, whose uncle – the NC's junior minister for law, Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, who was the original candidate for Lolab – was assassinated during the campaign.