02:03October 8, 2024
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Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina said in an interview to ANI on October 7:
The BJP will form the government with the support of small parties. I am confident that the BJP will also open its account in Kashmir. On October 8, the BJP will win around 35 seats and form the government with independent candidates and smaller parties supported by the BJP.
At the same time, on October 6, PDP leader Zuhaib Yusuf Mir said:
We are ready to form an alliance with the National Conference and the Congress to keep the BJP out of power.
National Conference President Farooq Abdullah expressed his happiness over this. It was then Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, who presented the party’s position on October 7. He wrote in X post-
Talk of an alliance is just speculation. Top PDP leaders will only make a decision to support the Secular Front when the results are known. This is our official stand.
Engineer Rashid also demanded resumption of Darbar Move in Jammu and Kashmir. He said-
The move of the Darbar was a good tradition. It should be restored again. It served as a bridging mechanism, fostering cultural and emotional ties between the two regions.
1. Bijbehara Headquarters
The Bijbehara seat of Anantnag district is considered to be the stronghold of the Mufti family. This time Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti is contesting elections from here. Since 1967, candidates from the Mufti family or the PDP have won the 9 legislative elections 6 times.
However, in 2014, PDP candidate Abdul Rehman could only win by 2,868 votes. At the same time, Mehbooba Mufti had lost to Anantnag in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Experts who understand Jammu and Kashmir politics say Iltija Mufti faces tough competition for the Bijbehara seat.
This seat appears to be in danger for the PDP. He is competing with NC’s Bashir Ahmed. Bashir’s father was also a three-time MP. He also defeated former CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed once in the Lok Sabha elections.
2. Ganderbal
The Ganderbal seat was occupied by the Abdullah family. This time, former chief minister Omar Abdullah is appearing here. His grandfather Sheikh Abdullah won here in 1977 and his father Farooq Abdullah in 1983, 1987 and 1996.
NC suffered only one defeat in this seat from 1977 to 2014. In 2008, when Omar became CM for the first time, he also won the elections from this seat. Bashir Ahmed Mir of the PDP is in the fray ahead of him.
In 2014, he contested from Kangan seat and gave a tough fight to Mian Altaf of NC. Bashir lost by less than 2,000 votes. This time Kangan seat is reserved for SC, so Bashir is contesting from Ganderbal. They are also considered to have good grip.
Sheikh Ishfaq Jabbar, who was a congressman from the same seat in North Carolina in 2014, is also running for office as an independent. Apart from this, Abdullah is also facing Ahmed Wage alias Sarjan Barkati, popularly known as ‘Azadi Chacha’ in Kashmir valley.
Barkati is accused of inciting young people to join terrorist organizations after the encounter with terrorist Burhan Wani. This is why he is in prison. Omar had earlier lost the Lok Sabha elections from Baramulla seat to engineer Rashid, who contested from Tihar jail.
For these reasons, this competition is considered difficult for Umar. Political scientist Bilal Furqani also believes that even if this seat is the stronghold of the Abdallah family, competition will be tough here too. This is the reason why Umar is also contesting from Budgam seat.
3. Boudgam
NC also dominates this seat. NC has only lost here once in the last 10 general elections. In such a situation, Budgam is also considered a safe seat for Umar. But senior Kashmir journalist Bilal Furqani says: “I think the Budgam seat will be tighter than the Ganderbal seat.
He will have a tough fight with PDP candidate Syed Muntajir Mehdi. Muntajir comes from the Shiite community. The Budgam seat has the highest number of Shia Muslim voters. His father Agha Syed Hussain Mehdi was a renowned Shia leader. He was also a great Hurriyat leader. In such a situation, the elections could be very close.
Between 30 and 33,000 voters are Shia, representing approximately 35% of the district’s population. In 2014, Mehdi’s cousin, Aga Syed Ruhullah, won the North Carolina election for this seat. Ruhullah was elected as MP from Srinagar.
4. Nowshera
BJP Jammu and Kashmir President Ravinder Raina is contesting from the Nowshera seat. He became an MP from here in 2014. PDP candidate Surendra Chaudhary, who gave him a tough fight in the 2014 elections, is contesting this time from North Carolina. He had earlier joined the BJP after parting ways with the PDP. Then he came to North Carolina and ran for Congress.
Experts believe that Surendra Chaudhary has his own vote bank. In the 2014 assembly elections, the Congress candidate got 5,342 votes, while the NC got 1,099 votes. This time, NC and Congress are fighting together. In such a situation, the fight will be tough.
A peculiarity is that Ravinder Raina is second among the least wealthy candidates. Raina declared her assets totaling Rs 1,000 in the affidavit.
5. Kupwara
Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC) leader Sajjad Gani Lone is contesting from the Kupwara seat. A triangular competition is underway for the seat. NC fielded Nasir Aslam Wani and PDP fielded Mir Mohammad Fayaz. In 2014, this seat was won by JKPC candidate Bashir Ahmed Dar. He had obtained a total of 24,754 votes.
6. Langett
The Langat seat in North Kashmir has been a stronghold of the National Conference. But in 2008, Awami Ittihad Party president Sheikh Abdul Rashid, alias Engineer Rashid, changed the game by winning his first Assembly election.
In 2014, he also won the elections here. This year, while in jail, he defeated Omar Abdullah from Baramulla Lok Sabha seat. This time, his brother Khurshid Ahmed Shaikh is contesting from Langate seat. He is pitted against JKPC chief and Kupwara District Development Council chairman Irfan Sultan Panditpuri.
Irshad Ghani, joint candidate of NC and Congress, is also putting up a tough fight. Apart from this, independent candidate Dr. Kaleem Ullah, supported by the banned Jamaat-e-Islami, is also in the fray.
7. Sopore
Sopore, famous for its apple orchards, was occupied by terrorism in the 1990s. This seat was considered the stronghold of separatist leaders. Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani was elected to this seat three times. This is the reason why the votes for the seat have also decreased.
In 2008, only 19% of votes took place here. In 2014, this figure increased to 30% and this time it is 45.32%. However, this seat is in the news as Ejaz Ahmed Guru, elder brother of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, is contesting the elections as an independent candidate.
The NC and Congress have fielded their separate candidates in this seat. NC gave its ticket to Irshad Rasool and Congress again gave its ticket to Abdul Rashid Dar, who was an MP here in 2014. While Irfan Ali Lone is in the PDP fray.