Srinagar, Oct 08: As results came in for assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the mandate gave a thumbs up to the National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance in Jammu and Kashmir.
Omar Abdullah-JKNC
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister contested two seats and won both by a margin of 18,000 and 10,000 votes. The Ganderbal Assembly seat is a stronghold of the National Conference, having elected three generations of the Abdullah family. He previously represented Ganderbal from 2009 to 2014 when he was elected chief minister in the National Conference-Congress coalition government.
Squaring off against Abdullah in Ganderbal was jailed cleric Sarjan Wagay, widely known as Sarjan Barkati, and Sheikh Ashiq, from Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party. Omar defeated PDP’s Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi in Budgam.
Tareeq Hameed Karra, Congress
Tariq Hameed Karra of the Congress won in Central Shalteng. Karra received 18,933 votes compared to the Independent Muhammad Irfan Shah, who got just 4,538 votes.
In August, right after the Election Commission announced the schedule for the Jammu-Kashmir elections, the Congress appointed Karra as the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee.
Karra made a name for himself when he won the Lok Sabha election in 2014 from Srinagar by a margin of over 40,000 votes, giving the first-ever electoral defeat to National Conference’s Dr Farooq Abdullah in four decades.
Shagun Parihar-BJP
BJP’s female candidate Shagun Parihar won the Kishtwar Assembly seat, defeating veteran National Conference leader and former minister Sajad Ahmed Kitchloo. Twenty-nine-year-old Parihar garnered 29,053 votes, narrowly defeating Kitchloo by a margin of 521 votes. Kitchloo, who previously won the seat in 2002 and 2008 and his father three times, secured 28,532 votes. PDP’s Firdos Ahmed Tak received just 997 votes, forfeiting his deposit.
“I bow before the people of Kishtwar for their faith in me and my party. Their support is deeply appreciated. I am humbled by their endorsement,” Parihar told reporters after she was declared elected.
She emphasised her victory is not just hers but belongs to the nationalist people of Jammu and Kashmir. “It is their blessing,” she added.
Mehraj Malik-AAP
AAP candidate Mehraj Malik won with a margin of 4,538 votes, receiving a total of 23,228 votes. His closest rival, Gajay Singh Rana of the BJP, garnered 18,690 votes. Following the victory, former Delhi chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Malik on his success in the assembly polls, saying that the party now has an MLA in the fifth state.
Javid Baig-JKNC
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference’s (JKNC) Javid Hassan Baig won the Baramulla seat with an 11,773 margin. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party’s Mohd Rafiq Rather lost the battle after winning only 3,177.
Irfan Hafiz Lone-Congress
Congress’s Irfan Hafiz Lone emerged victorious in the Wagoora-Kreeri Assembly constituency, defeating People’s Democratic Party’s Syed Basharat Bukhari, a two-time MLA. Irfan secured 17,002 votes, while Bukhari trailed by 7,751 votes, marking a decisive victory for Lone.
Lone, a candidate of the Congress-NC, played a pivotal role in maintaining the unity of the alliance in the Wagoora-Kreeri constituency.
Farooq Ahmed Shah, JKNC
JKNC leader Pirzada Farooq Ahmed Shah has won from the Gulmarg assembly seat with a margin of 4191 votes. Pirzada Farooq Ahmed Shah defeated JAKAP’s Ghulam Hassan Mir.
M Yousuf Tarigami, CPI(M)
Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader MY Tarigami won from the Kulgam constituency in South Kashmir in the Assembly election. Tarigami received 33,634 votes. He beat Sayar Ahmed Reshi, a candidate backed by the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami, who got 25,796 votes.
The other candidates in the race were Mohammad Amin Dar from the PDP and Engineer Mohammad Aqib from the Apni Party. A prominent leader in the region, Tarigami has represented the Kulgam constituency in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014.
ltija Mufti, PDP
The outspoken daughter of former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, Iltija Mufti, lost from the Srigufwara-Bijbehara constituency. Iltija was making her electoral debut as a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate.
She was defeated by National Conference (NC) veteran Bashir Veeri by more than 9,000 votes. The PDP has maintained its hold on the constituency since 1996.
The seat was held by Mehbooba as well as Sayeed Mehbooba Mufti. However, in recent years, the National Conference has gained momentum. Her loss comes as a big blow to the party.
Sajad Lone, People’s Conference
People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone contested two seats. He won in North Kashmir’s Handwara constituency while losing in Kupwara. The 57-year-old beat National Conference’s Choudhary Ramzan, who previously won the seat in 2008, in Handwara by 600 votes. However, in Kupwara, Lone lost to PDP’s Mir Mohammad Fayaz by a considerable margin.
Ravinder Raina, BJP
The BJP chief in the Union Territory, Ravinder Raina, lost to National Conference’s Surinder Choudhary from the Nowshera constituency. Raina received 27,250 votes compared to Choudhary’s 35,069 votes.
Early this morning, Raina performed a ‘yagya’ and expressed confidence that his party would secure a majority and form a government, potentially with the support of Independents.
Syed Altaf Bukhari, Apni Party
Syed Altaf Bukhari, chief of the J&K Apni Party, has lost the Channapora constituency in Srinagar to National Conference candidate Mushtaq Guroo. He has maintained his lead by over 5600 votes.
Tara Chand-Congress
Congress candidate Tara Chand Former Deputy Chief Minister and Congress candidate Tara Chand on Tuesday lost his traditional bastion of the Chhamb seat, which was won by rebel independent candidate Satesh Sharma with a margin of 6,929 votes.
The Congress party had won the Chhamb Assembly constituency seven out of the past nine elections since 1962, when party veteran Chajju Ram secured the seat for the first time. “It is a victory for the people. It is all up to the people to decide our fate. People can make or break you. I thank the people from the core of my heart,” Sharma told reporters after being declared elected from the seat.
Raman Bhalla-Congress
Former minister and working president of the Congress’ J&K unit Raman Bhalla contested from the RS Pura-Jammu South constituency, traditionally an INC stronghold. He lost the seat to BJP’s Dr Narinder Singh Raina by 1966 votes.
Early trends showed that the 61-year-old INC candidate was leading, but then Dr Narinder Singh Raina took the lead. In this neck-to-neck battle, Bhalla again took control of the seat before losing out to Raina in the final rounds of counting.
