The labels “proxy” and “agent” have turned so pervasive and paranoiac in Jammu and Kashmir’s first Assembly elections since losing its special status in 2019 that no political party seems to have escaped one or the other taint.

A “proxy” is a political party suspected of having or eyeing a tie-up with the BJP to form the government. An “agent” is either an “Indian agent” or a “Pakistani” one.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has himself accused INDIA parties Congress, National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of pushing Pakistan’s agenda.

NC president Farooq Abdullah has hit back by accusing the BJP of facilitating Pakistan’s agenda, wondering how its government released pro-Pakistan politicians to contest the polls.

In the Valley, all the political parties barring the Congress are buffeted by the charge of being a BJP proxy, some loudly and others in muffled tones.

No political party in Kashmir today is willing to be seen as even remotely connected with the BJP, belying the rosy narrative peddled by the BJP about its success in winning hearts and minds in Kashmir.

Near the top of the “proxy” charts are the Democratic Progressive Freedom Party of former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the People’s Conference of Sajad Lone, and the Apni Party of Altaf Bukhari, forever being tarnished as the BJP’s “B-team”.

They had done little to remove these apprehensions during the parliamentary polls, and fared miserably, underlining how the “proxy” tag can ruin political careers.

Lone, who once took pride in calling Modi his “elder brother”, was recently seen chanting slogans such as “Modi ka jo yaar hain, gaddar hain, gaddar hain (Whoever is Modi’s friend is a traitor)”.

Azad has directed some of his candidates to withdraw from the contest to ward off the accusations of being a “vote cutter” in favour of the BJP.

Nor have his fellow former chief ministers — Farooq and Omar Abdullah of the NC and Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP — escaped the taint.

In the case of Omar and Mehbooba, the allegations may have come only in passing but still contributed in some way to their defeats in the parliamentary polls.

Omar’s apparently wavering position on Article 370 until last year had fuelled charges of a secret understanding with the BJP.

“Did not we say so (that the NC was close to the BJP),” the rivals crowed after the high court last month cleared Farooq in an EDmoney-laundering case.

The allegations returned to haunt Omar on Friday after Muntazir Mohidin, candidate of the Apni Party (allegedly the BJP’s “B-team”), withdrew from Budgam in favour of the NC vice-president.

Omar claimed Muntazir had defied his party to support him, arguing it was his individual decision.

Mehbooba and her PDP are the original sinners in the eyes of her rivals despite their strong anti-BJP posturing now. The PDP had joined hands with the BJP to form the government in 2015 and faces the charge that if they could do it once, they might do it again.

The latest to invite the “proxy” label are, ironically, those who had even sometime ago been touted as defining the “moral compass” of the Kashmiri resistance. These are the separatist Jamaat-e-Islami and Baramulla MP Sheikh Abdul “Engineer” Rashid, celebrated for his campaign for Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.

Rashid, who has received bail after five years in detention, rode a sympathy wave to defeat the heavyweights Omar and Lone in the Lok Sabha polls, winning more votes than they did together.

His party and the Jamaat — a banned organisation — recently struck a strategic alliance for the Assembly polls. Both have been widely accused of being the “new proxies”, allowed to contest to help queer the pitch for the INDIA bloc.

The “proxy” brouhaha has engulfed the Beerwah constituency of central Kashmir, which votes on September 25. The main contestants are Nazir Ahmad Khan, fielded by Rashid’s party, and the NC and PDP candidates.

However, the last-minute entry of jailed separatist leader Sarjan Barkati, whose wife too is in jail, has unnerved Khan. Leading an emotional campaign in Barkati’s absence is his teenage daughter Sugra.

Omar, in the fray from Ganderbal and Budgam, recently said his decision to contest from two places was aimed at exposing Delhi’s alleged plot of fielding jailed politicians against him to ensure his defeat.

Central Kashmir, including Srinagar, votes on September 25