Independent candidates dominate withdrawals
First phase election set with 219 candidates
Srinagar, August 30:
With the deadline for withdrawing candidatures now closed, 25 candidates have pulled out of the race for the first phase of assembly elections, which covers 24 constituencies. The withdrawals include more than a dozen independents, leaving 219 candidates to contest the upcoming polls.
In Anantnag district, independent candidate Sheikh Muzafar Ahmad has withdrawn from the Anantnag-West constituency. Additionally, two independents, Mohd Hussain Pader and Shahid Hussain Bhat, have withdrawn from the Dooru constituency.
Pulwama district saw the withdrawal of Mohammad Ayub Band, an independent candidate from the Tral constituency.
In Kishtwar district, three independent candidates—Sajjad Ahmed, Mohd Aslam Dev, and Sanjay Kumar—have withdrawn from the Kishtwar constituency, leaving seven candidates in the fray. The Padder-Nagseni constituency witnessed the withdrawal of Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Arshad Muthier, while two independent candidates, Irshad Ahmad and Farooq Ahmad Keen, along with Fatima Begum from DPAP, have withdrawn from the Inderwal constituency.
In Doda district, Syed Aasim Hashmi from the Doda-West constituency has opted out. Additionally, independent candidates Varinder Kumar Razdan, Anil Kumar, Bhoori Singh, and Amil Kumar have withdrawn from the Bhaderwah constituency, alongside DPAP’s Mohammad Aslam Goni. Independent candidates Gurukesh Gupta and Urfi Majid Wani, the latter a covering candidate for DPAP, have also withdrawn from the Doda constituency.
In Ramban district, which includes the Ramban and Banihal constituencies, two independent candidates, Chhankar Singh and Suresh Kumar, as well as Bhadur Singh from the J&K National Panthers Party and Girdhari Bhau from DPAP, have withdrawn their nominations from the Ramban constituency. Similarly, in the Banihal constituency, independent candidate Gulzar Ahmad and DPAP leader Asif Ahmad Khanday have pulled out of the race.
Lastly, in Kulgam’s Devsar constituency, independent candidate Rameez Ahmad Dar has withdrawn his nomination.
The first phase of elections will proceed with 219 candidates now vying for seats.
