Suhail Khan
Sopore, Oct 10 : Two weeks ago, during election campaigning, National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah visited Sopore and addressed the people, stating that if Sopore’s candidate Irshad Rasool Kar won by a substantial margin, he would be directly appointed to a cabinet minister position. Remarkably, just a day before the Assembly poll results were announced, Irshad Rasool Kar not only achieved substantial victory but also became the first NC candidate to win in the assembly elections of 2024, securing the highest margin of over 20,000 votes.
Amid the celebrations and cheers, the question remains: Will Omar Abdullah fulfill his promise? Every National Conference worker, residents of Sopore hopes that this time, Sopore will write its own destiny and have its own cabinet minister in the upcoming assembly who will voice the concerns of the constituency, advance its issues, and realize the dreams of every voter.
Sopore, often overlooked and burdened by negative perceptions during elections, has made a remarkable turnaround in this assembly election and caught the world’s attention, by participating in the electoral process with a high turnout and creating a festive atmosphere from the outset. On Tuesday, with the assembly poll results announced, National Conference candidate Irshad Rasool Kar emerged as the top vote-getter, achieving a historic victory with an impressive margin of 20,356 votes.
According to data available with Kashmir Despatch, a total of 20 candidates contested for the Sopore Assembly Constituency seat, including Congress candidate and former MLA Haji Abdul Rashid, AIP candidate Advocate Mursaleen, PDP’s Irfan Ali, among others.
Irshad Rasool Kar secured a total of 26,975 votes, while Advocate Mursaleen came in second with 6,619 votes, and two-time former MLA Haji Abdul Rashid Dar received 5,167 votes.
With this victory, the National Conference has made history in Sopore, winning with a margin not seen in four decades. Before militancy, Syed Ali Shah had won with a massive margin of around 24,000 votes. Today, Irshad Rasool Kar has broken that record, marking a new chapter in Sopore’s history and fulfilling the challenge laid out by his leader, Vice President Omar Abdullah, with over 20,000 votes in 2024 assembly elections.
Now, all eyes are on Omar Abdullah. Can he fulfill his promise? Will Irshad Kar receive a ministerial post?
Pertinently, this is the second time in 2024 that Omar Abdullah has made promises in Sopore. Previously, during the Lok Sabha elections, he visited town and assured the public that Irshad Rasool Kar would contest in the assembly elections. Now, after fulfilling that promise, all eyes are on whether he will keep this new promise. Will Irshad Rasool Kar be appointed to a ministerial post? This remains the hot topic in Sopore.
Meanwhile, the formation of the ministry will be crucial, as the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act of 2019 restricts the strength of the Council of Ministers to 10 percent of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly.
“The UT of Jammu and Kashmir will have a Council of Ministers of not more than 10 percent of the total number of members in the Assembly,” the Reorganization Act states.
J&K has a 90-member Assembly, with provisions for the nomination of five members, including two women, two Kashmiri Pandits (one of whom must be a woman), and one refugee from PoJK, bringing the total House strength to 95.
Ten percent of this assembly means that J&K can have either 9 or 10 ministers, including the Chief Minister. Additionally, two MLAs can be elected as the Legislative Assembly Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
Political observers suggest that accommodating independent candidates will be a challenging task for the National Conference, as the party has already won 42 seats. Out of the 43 assembly seats in the Jammu division, the BJP has won 29, NC has secured 7, and Independents have won 5, with Congress and AAP each holding one seat.
Suhail Khan is a filmmaker, content writer, and freelance journalist.
