Maverick Sajjad lone’s maiden victory in J&K elections opens a new chapter in mainstream politics of Kashmir. lone, 47, cruised through from Handwara constituency in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district after trampling the National Conference stalwart Muhammad Ramzan Chowdhary. Sajjad is the son of slain Hurriyat Conference leader Abdul Gani lone, one of the founders of separatist Hurriyat Conference. Initially, Sajjad had stepped into his father’s shoes to adhere to separatism but changed his tack, clandestinely in 2002 and openly in 2008. Sajjad defeated Ramzan by a margin of 5,423 votes in Handwara. He bagged an impressive number of 29,355 votes.