{{Short description| Indian politician and Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Use Indian English|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = Sajad Gani Lone |image = |caption = |native_name = |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1966|12|9|df=y}} |birth_place = Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir, India |office = Spokesperson of People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration |term_start = 24 October 2020 |term_end = 19 January 2021 |predecessor = ''position established'' |successor = Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami |office1 = Member in J&K Legislative Assembly |term_start1 = 8 October 2024 |term_end1 = |predecessor1 = Chowdary Mohmad Ramzan |constituency1 = Handwara |office2 = Minister for Social Welfare, ARI & Trainings and Science & Technology, Government of J&K |term_start2 = April 2016 |term_end2 = 19 June 2018 |governor2 = |deputy2 = |predecessor2 = Sakina Itoo |successor2 = Governor's rule |office3 = Minister for Animal, Sheep Husbandry, Fisheries and Science & Technology, Government of J&K |term_start3 = 1 March 2015 |term_end3 = 7 January 2016 |party = Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference |education = Bachelor of Commerce |parents = Abdul Gani Lone (father) |spouse = {{marriage|Asma Khan Lone|2000}} |children = Amad Gani Lone (son) Adnan Gani Lone (son) |relatives = {{bulleted list|Shabnam Gani Lone (sister)|Bilal Gani Lone (brother)}} |other_party = National Democratic Alliance (2014–2019) }} '''Sajad Gani Lone''' (born 9 December 1966) is an Indian politician,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/lone-threat-to-muftis-and-abdullahs/300364|title=Lone Threat To The Big Two|magazine=Outlook|date=23 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725122811/https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/lone-threat-to-muftis-and-abdullahs/300364|archive-date=25 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Member of the Legislative Assembly elected from the Handwara constituency. He is the chairman of Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference. He was also a Cabinet Minister of the Social Welfare department of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir during the People's Democratic Party - BJP Alliance Government (2014 - 2018).
==Early and personal life== Sajjad Lone was born on 9 December 1966.<ref name=election>{{cite web|title=Sajjad Gani Biography - About family, political life, awards won, history|url=https://www.elections.in/political-leaders/sajjad-gani.html/|access-date=20 December 2020|website=Elections in India}}</ref> Sajjad Gani Lone is the younger of the two sons of Abdul Ghani Lone, a former separatist, who was assassinated in a rally in Srinagar in 2002.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090512/jsp/nation/story_10951340.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515113839/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090512/jsp/nation/story_10951340.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 May 2009|title=Off boycott coldstore, on steep uphill|last=Thakur|first=Sankarshan|work=The Telegraph|date=12 May 2009|access-date=3 June 2009}}</ref> His elder brother, Bilal Gani Lone, is a member of moderate faction of Hurriyat, also a member of Hurriyat Conference's Executive Council.<ref>{{cite web|title=Two brothers, two ideologies and big Lone family stands at the crossroads of history|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-two-brothers-two-ideologies-and-big-lone-family-stands-at-the-crossroads-of-history-2065383|access-date=23 July 2022|website=DNA India}}</ref> His sister, Shabnam Gani Lone, is a lawyer by profession and an independent politician from Kupwara, J&K.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hussain|first=Masood|title=Some try to enter J&K House via sympathy route|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/dateline-india/some-try-to-enter-jk-house-via-sympathy-route/articleshow/3718089.cms|date=16 November 2008|access-date=9 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/sibling-rivalry-farooq-lone-face-stiff-opposition-from-sisters/articleshow/3715289.cms|last1=Arshad|first1=Sameer|last2=Pandit|first2=M Saleem|title=Sibling rivalry: Farooq, Lone face stiff opposition from sisters|work=The Times of India|date=15 November 2008|access-date=9 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/shabnam-lone/215725|title=Shabnam Lone|website=www.outlookindia.com/|date=23 May 2002|access-date=9 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Political leaders estranged from kin|work=The Tribune|place=Chandigarh, India|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010702/main7.htm|access-date=9 May 2026|date=1 July 2001}}</ref>
Sajjad attended Burn Hall School in Srinagar and graduated from the University of Wales, College of Cardiff, UK in 1989.<ref name=election/>
Sajjad Lone is married to Asma Khan, daughter of JKLF ideologue Amanullah Khan, the Pakistan-based leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/a-marriage-of-convenience/210441|title=A Marriage Of Convenience|magazine=Outlook|date=27 November 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430082313/https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/a-marriage-of-convenience/210441|archive-date=30 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2000/nov/18lone.htm|title=Big guns gather for Lone son's wedding|website=www.rediff.com|date=18 November 2000|access-date=9 May 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/478969/sajjad-lones-passport-application-limbo.html|title=Sajjad Lone's passport application in limbo|last=Majid|first=Zulfikar|date=21 May 2015|work=Deccan Herald|access-date=9 May 2026}}</ref> The couple have two sons.
==Political career== Lone remained associated with the Hurriyat for a while in early 2000's but in 2004, after the assassination of his father, Lone became the chairman of People's Conference.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_23-5-2005_pg7_3|title=Thousands rally to remember Ghani Lone|work=Daily Times|publisher=Media Times|date=23 May 2005|access-date=3 June 2009|page=7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022095549/https://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_23-5-2005_pg7_3|archive-date=22 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Before he stood as an independent candidate in the 2009 Indian general election from the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, he in 2008, at the height of the Amarnath land transfer controversy, believed that the protests were a mass uprising against Indian rule and decided to boycott the Assembly elections.<ref name=":0"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6279443.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517012607/https://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6279443.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 May 2009|title=Tension in Kashmir as separatist leader Sajjad Lone stands in election|first=Rhys|last=Blakely|work=Times Online|publisher=Times Newspapers|date=13 May 2009|access-date=3 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/Sajjadrsquos-switchover/article16622750.ece|title=Sajjad's switchover|newspaper=The Hindu|date=25 April 2009|access-date=9 May 2026}}</ref> He was defeated by the National Conference candidate Sharifuddin Shariq.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/nccong-sweep-jk-sajjad-lone-defeated/|title=NC-Cong alliance sweeps J-K, Sajjad Lone defeated|work=The Indian Express|date=16 May 2009|access-date=9 May 2026}}</ref>
In 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Lone won Handwara assembly constituency in north Kashmir, by a margin of more than 5000 votes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/assembly/election-results-sajjad-lone-former-separatist-with-pakistani-wife-wins-in-kashmir-716953|last=Ghosh|first=Deepshikha|title=Election Results: Sajjad Lone, Former Separatist With Pakistani Wife, Wins in Kashmir|website=NDTV.com|date=23 December 2014|access-date=9 May 2026}}</ref> He was one of the two People's Conference candidates elected to the state legislative assembly.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|date=24 November 2018|title=Meet the separatist-turned-nationalist younger brother of PM Modi in J&K|url=https://theprint.in/politics/the-separatist-and-darling-of-kashmir-who-is-now-modis-younger-brother/153934/|access-date=9 May 2026|last1=Parveen|first1=Rahiba R.|last2=Chhibber|first2=Maneesh|website=ThePrint|language=en-US}}</ref> His party JKPC led in all blocks of Handwara constituency including Rajwar, Ramhal and Magam.
In 2018, days after BJP withdrew its support to the PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, Lone staked claim to form the government in the erstwhile state as he possessed the required support of BJP and some other lawmakers. However, the then Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the state assembly without letting Lone prove his claim.<ref>{{cite web|title=Staked Claim As We Have Numbers In Jammu and Kashmir, Says Sajjad Lone|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/staked-claim-as-we-have-numbers-in-jammu-and-kashmir-says-sajjad-lone-1952268|date=23 November 2018|access-date=9 May 2026|website=NDTV.com}}</ref>
===Opposition to the revocation of special status=== Sajad Gani Lone has been vocal supporter of special status of Jammu & Kashmir. He was part of an-all party group formed for safeguarding Jammu and Kashmir's special status. Hours before BJP-led centre revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by reading down the Article 370, Lone was put under house arrest. On 5 August, Lone was arrested by Jammu & Kashmir police and lodged in a jail in Srinagar. He was taken into police custody on 5 August 2019 and was freed from detention on 31 July 2020.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} In 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, Lone won Handwara assembly constituency in north Kashmir, by a margin of more than 650 votes.
==Recognition== *Sajjad Lone featured in list of top 6 Indians of 2015 by Khaleej Times, UAE.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/article/khaleej-times-profiles-six-indians-who-have-recently-made-a-mark-in-their-respective-fields|title=Khaleej Times profiles six Indians who have recently made a mark in their respective fields|last=Shaban|first=Sadiq|work=Khaleej Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/kashmir/sajjad-lone-among-top-6-indians/194331.html|title=Sajjad Lone among top 6 Indians|last=Maqbool|first=Umer|date=15 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924043310/https://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/kashmir/sajjad-lone-among-top-6-indians/194331.html|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lone, Sajjad}} Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference politicians Category:Jammu and Kashmir MLAs 2014–2018 Category:People from Baramulla district Category:State cabinet ministers of Jammu and Kashmir Category:Indian Muslims Category:Alumni of Cardiff University Category:Kashmiri politicians Category:21st-century Indian Muslims Category:Indian Muslim politicians Category:Jammu and Kashmir MLAs 2024–2029 Category:People from Kupwara district