His triumph by 26,975 votes signifies major political shift in constituency

Waris Fayaz

Sopore, Oct 09 : With the overwhelming and resounding victory of the National Conference (NC) candidate Irshad Rasool Kar in the Sopore Assembly Constituency, the impressive margin of 26,975 votes led to the forfeiture of deposits for all 19 of his opponents, speaking Kar’s unchallenged supremacy in the race.

Kar, a rising star in the region, turned what was expected to be a competitive contest into a one-sided affair, as his victory coupled with the forfeiture of all his opponents’ deposits.

Irshad’s rival Mursaleen Aajir, an independent candidate backed by the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), managed just 6,619 votes. Two-time MLA and once a dominant figure in Sopore’s political landscape, Abdul Rashid Dar, fared little better, securing only 5,167 votes, which marked a symbolic end to his political reign in the constituency.

Among the other notable candidates was Irfan Ali Lone of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who polled just 1,687 votes, while Mohammad Latief Wani, a lawyer by profession and expected to give NC’s Kar a tough fight, could muster only 2,099 votes.

A once stronghold for Jamaat-e-Islami, Sopore saw its candidate Manzoor Ahmad Kaloo perform poorly, obtaining a mere 406 votes. This was a significant decline for the Jamaat and separatist-backed candidates, reflecting a major shift in the political dynamics of the constituency. Similarly, Aijaz Ahmad Guroo, the brother of Afzal Guru, who was associated with the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, received only 129 votes.

Similarly, Ghulam Mohammad War of the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) garnered 1,519 votes, followed by Irshad Ahmad Tantry of the Jammu and Kashmir Awami National Conference (JKANC) with 1,154 votes.

Dr Farooz Ahmad Ganai managed 1,066 votes, while Dr Manzoor Ahmad Bhat of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference received 987 votes.

Other candidates in the race included Tanveer Fatima, who secured 215 votes, Aijaz Ahmad Ganai with 848 votes, Arti Nehru with 471 votes, and Shuiqb Mohammad Sheikh with 469 votes. Raquib ul Rashif Budha of the JK All Alliance Democratic Party garnered 270 votes, Rizwan Illahi Parvaiz received 258 votes, and Farooq Rather of the Rashtriya Lok Dal trailed with 178 votes.

Notably, 341 voters chose the NOTA (None of the Above) option, reflecting a degree of dissatisfaction among some sections of the electorate—(KNO)

New Delhi — All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi stated on Wednesday that National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah would be the weakest Chief Minister in Indian history.

After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to secure a single seat in Kashmir, Owaisi remarked that the people of Kashmir had expressed their anger over the abolition of Article 370.

Speaking to ANI, Owaisi said, “Omar Abdullah will be the weakest CM in Indian history. The people of Kashmir have shown their anger against the abolition of Article 370 and delivered a very decisive verdict. The BJP wanted to divide the Pahadis and the Gujjars, but that did not happen. BJP has won 27 seats in Jammu, and Congress has won just one, which is the main concern…”

The results of the J&K assembly elections were declared on Tuesday, October 8. The JKNC led the alliance to victory with 42 seats, while Congress secured six. The BJP also performed well, winning 29 seats.

Owaisi stressed that secular parties need to introspect and plan for the upcoming state assemblies.

Further opposing the abolition of Article 370, Owaisi called the bill ‘constitutionally wrong’.

“My party opposed the bill abolishing Article 370. One of the provisions allows the LG to appoint five MLAs, which I believe is constitutionally wrong. If the sitting CM cannot appoint MLAs, but the LG, appointed by the PM, can, then what is the role of the CM?” he added.

This was the first election in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 and its bifurcation into two Union Territories. — (ANI)

Srinagar — The legislature party of the National Conference will meet on Thursday to elect their leader in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly as party president Farooq Abdullah maintained that his son Omar Abdullah will be the first chief minister of the Union Territory.

The NC on Tuesday emerged as the single largest party with 42 seats as results of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls were declared. The party is comfortably placed to form the government as its alliance with Congress and CPI(M) got 49 seats in the 95-member house.

“The National Conference legislature party will meet tomorrow at half-past 12 to elect their leader,” the party vice president said.

Omar Abdullah said the NC legislature party meeting will be followed by a meeting of the alliance partners to elect the leader of the alliance in the House.

“Then we will go to the Raj Bhavan to stake the claim for government formation and ask the LG to fix a time for swearing in,” Omar Abdullah said, adding, “I hope the new government is in place in the next few days”.

However, NC president Farooq Abdullah asserted his supremacy over the choice of person who will head the government.

Reacting to his son’s statement that the alliance will decide the chief minister, the NC patriarch said, “Whatever I have decided, only that will happen”.

Farooq Abdullah said the aim of the NC-Congress government would be to minimise the differences between the two regions of the Union Territory and to build confidence among the Hindus.

In an apparent reference to the BJP, he said, “We have to minimise the differences that they have created between Jammu and Kashmir. Our endeavour should be that the Hindus there have this confidence in us that we will think about them in the same manner as about Kashmir”.

“We will not differentiate between the two. So what if they did not vote (for us). It is our duty to solve their problems,” Abdullah told reporters here.

Meanwhile, the Awami Ittehad Party headed by Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rash id hit out at Omar Abdullah for remaining silent about the restoration of Article 370 after the election victory.

“He appears to be running away from this core issue of the election campaign and has started now praising Narendra Modi and his government,” a spokesman of the AIP said in a statement.

Omar Abdullah, in multiple media interactions on Wednesday, said hoping for the restoration of Article 370 from the very people who snatched it would be “foolish,” but his party would keep the issue alive and continue to raise it.

“Our political stand will not change. We have never said that we will remain silent on Article 370 or that Article 370 is not an issue for us now,” Abdullah said when asked what the stand of the party would be on the matter after government formation.

“We will continue to talk on this and hope that tomorrow there will be a change of government in the country, there is a new setup with whom we can discuss this and get something for J&K,” Abdullah added.

Earlier in the day, Omar Abdullah said the NC-Congress government would pass a resolution demanding the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood in its first cabinet meeting.

“After the formation of the government, I hope in the first cabinet meeting, the cabinet will pass a resolution impressing upon the Centre to restore the statehood. The government should then take that resolution to the prime minister,” he said.

The former chief minister expressed hope that the government in Jammu and Kashmir will be able to run smoothly unlike in Delhi.

“There is a difference between us and Delhi. Delhi was never a state. No one promised Delhi statehood. Jammu and Kashmir was a state before 2019. We have been promised the restoration of statehood by the prime minister, the home minister and other senior ministers who have said that three steps will be taken in J&K — delimitation, election and then statehood.

“Delimitation has happened, the elections have now taken place as well. So, only the statehood remains which should be restored,” he added.

Asked how important the need for coordination between the new Jammu and Kashmir government and Centre, the NC leader said nothing can be achieved by having a confrontation with New Delhi.

“Let the government be formed first. This question should be posed to the chief minister. There should be a cordial relationship with New Delhi… we cannot address any issue by having a confrontation with the Centre.

“It is not that we will accept the BJP’s politics, or that the BJP will accept our politics. We will continue to oppose the BJP, but it is not our compulsion to oppose the Centre,” he said. — (PTI)

Srinagar, October 09 : Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday laid wreath and paid homage to Rfn Hilal Ahmad Bhat, who laid down his life in the line of duty for the Nation.

In a handout, as per the spokesman LG said that “I salute the supreme sacrifice of our Army braveheart Rfn Hilal Ahmad Bhat. His valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

The entire nation stands firmly with the family of the martyr in this hour of grief,” the Lt Governor said.