It’s a big day in Jammu and Kashmir. The erstwhile state is holding its first election in 10 years and the first since the
abrogation of Article 370. The voting will be held in three phases and today (September 18, Wednesday) is the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.

J&K has 90 Assembly constituencies of which 24 go to polls – 16 in Kashmir and eight in Jammu. There are 219 candidates in the race. However, in Kashmir, the contest will be largely between two big regional parties – the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). And in Jammu, it fight will mostly be between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.

We look at the big battles of Phase 1, as voting begins.

Pampore

The most contested seats in this Phase are from Pampore with 14 candidates in the fray. It comes under the Pulwama district in Kashmir. NC’s Hasnain Masoodi is up against PDP’s Zahoor Ahmad Mir, who won in 2014 and 2008.

In 2014, Mir defeated Yawar Ali Abass Masoodi of the NC. The PDP leader is now looking for a hat trick.

In this election, NC has decided to go with Hasnain Masoodi, a former MP from Anantnag, with the hope that he will unseat Mir.

The BJP has fielded Ali Mohammad Wagay and the Congress candidate is Mohd Anwar Bhat. There are two Independents in the race – Ghulam Mohammad Yatoo and Mohd Iqbal Sofi.

Anantnag

Thirteen candidates will contest for the Anantnag constituency in south Kashmir. It is expected to be a fight between Peerzada Mohammad Sayed of Congress, Dr Mehboob Beigh of the PDP, Hilal Ahmad Shah of Apni Party, and independent candidate Peer Mansoor Hussain. The BJP is fielding Syed Peerzada Wajahat Hussain.

Sayed has served as the president of the Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress and has been a four-time MLA from the Kokernag constituency. Dr Mehboob Beigh is the son of Mirza Afzal Beigh who was with the NC but later switched to PDP.

Shah joined the Apni Party a few years ago and was earlier with the Congress. And Mansoor Hussain is a former MLA of the Shangus constituency.

Dr Mehboob Beigh and his father’s long association with the constituency gives him a good chance to retain the seat, according to experts.

Shangus-Anantnag East

One of the key Assembly constituencies from Kashmir will see a key candidate in the fray – PDP’s Abdul Rehman Veeri. He has served earlier as the rural development minister of J&K and a four-time MLA from Bijbehara. He is contesting from Anantnag East for the first time.

Veeri faces a tough fight against Riyaz Ahmad Khan of the NC.

Pulwama

Pulwama is expected to see a close contest between Waheed Ur Rehman Para of the PDP and Mohammad Khalil Bandh of the NC. Bandh, who won the seat for the PDP in 2008 and 2014, is now part of the rival party. He joined the NC after the abrogation of Article 370.

Para, an accused in the terror case who has been released from jail recently, is up against someone who he once campaigned for.

The other candidate to watch out for in this constituency is Dr Talat Majeed. An independent, he is a former member of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami.

Bijbehara-Srigufwara constituency

Bijbehara, also known as the Bijbehara-Srigufwara constituency, is the family turf of the Muftis. Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti, is making her electoral debut from here. The party is banking on Iltija to retain the bastion.

She is up against NC veteran Bashir Veeri, who has lost two elections from this seat. BJP has fielded Sofi Mohammad Yousuf, a senior Valley leader.

With a triangular contest, this is one of the constituencies which will be closely watched.

Kulgam

Among the key constituencies in Phase 1, Kulgam in south Kashmir is the only constituency considered the bastion of the left.

Ten candidates are contesting for this seat. However, all eyes are on three names who are expected to have a close fight – Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami of the Communist Party of India (Marxist); Nazir Ahmad Laway of the People’s Conference and Sayyar Reshi, an Independent candidate. Laway was earlier with the PDP.

Tarigami is a four-time MLA and Reshi has emerged as a strong contender against him. The Independent headed the Falah-e-Aam Trust, the Jamaat’s educational wing in Kulgam. He has the support of a select panel of the Jamaat-e-Islami.

Dooru

South Kashmir’s Dooru constituency will see a big player in the fray – AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir.

The constituency has been dominated by the NC-Congress, who have formed an alliance yet again, winning six out of the seven elections since 1977. NC candidates have held the seat in 1977, 1983, 1987, and 1996. Ghulam Ahmad Mir won in 2002 and 2008. However, in the last election held in 2014, the seat went to PDP’s Syed Farooq Ahmad Andrabi.

In this election, Ghulam Ahmad will be facing PDP’s Mohammad Ashraf Malik, a former judge, Mohammad Saleem Parry of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), and Bashir Ahmad Wani of the Apni Party. There are several Independent candidates in the race.

Shopian

The apple town of Kashmir has seen a lot of drama in the run-up to the election.

The NC is fielding former MLA Sheikh Mohammad Rafi. It denied a ticket to Shabir Ahmad Kullay, who will now be fighting independently. Two PDP leaders Raja Waheed and former lawmaker Aijaz Ahmad Mir quit the party after they were refused tickets.

Waheed filed his nomination papers on an Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) ticket while Mir is running as an independent. The PDP has fielded Yawar Ahmad Banday from Shopian.

Devsar

Devsar seat has been traditionally held by the NC and Congress. But in 2002, Sartaj Madni led the PDP to victory in the constituency, reflecting a change in voter sentiment.

Madni will be fighting in Wednesday’s election. He is up against NC’s Peerzada Feroze Ahamad and Mohammad Amin Bhat of the DPAP, who fought the 2014 election on a Congress ticket.

Doda and Doda West

After delimitation, the constituency was divided into Doda and Doda West.

Doda will see a friendly contest between NC’s Khalid Najib Suharwady and Congress’ Sheikh Riyaz.

Suharwady was part of the Farooq Abdullah government and served as Jammu and Kashmir’s home minister from 2001 to 2002. He was an MLC from 2009 to 2015.

Riyaz was sarpanch and later served as the Congress secretary in the erstwhile state.

The BJP has fielded Gajay Singh Rana. This Muslim-majority seat was won by the BJP in the 2014 Assembly polls.

The Doda West constituency, which was carved out of Doda, is a Hindu majority seat. BJP has fielded Shakti Raj Parihar and the Congress Pardeep Kumar.

Kishtwar

In Jammu, the political landscape is dominated by Congress and the BJP. In the Kishtwar constituency, the BJP has fielded a terror victim Shagun Parihar. The 29-year-old’s father Ajit Parihar and uncle Anil Parihar were shot dead by terrorists in November 2018.

Challenging her are Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo of the NC and Firdous Ahmad Tak of the PDP.

Inderwal

This seat situated in Jammu’s Chenab Valley will see eight names in the fray. A close contest is expected between Congress’ Mohd Zafarullah, BJP’s Taraq Hussain Keen and PDP’s Nasir Hussain Sheikh.

The seat was won by Ghulam Mohammad Saroori in 2014 on a Congress ticket. However, he quit the party in support of Ghulam Nabi Azad two years ago. The three-time MLA is now fighting as an independent after he was denied a ticket by the DPAP.

With inputs from agencies

Link to article – 

Phase 1 of J&K Assembly election: The big battles and key candidates to watch out for