Jammu:

Three women, including former minister Sakeena Masood (National Conference), won elections on Tuesday to enter the male-dominated Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.

While two women made it to the Assembly in 2014, three women, including Mehbooba Mufti, won elections in 2008.

Among them, the lone BJP female candidate Shagun Parihar won the Kishtwar Assembly seat, defeating veteran National Conference leader and former minister Sajad Ahmed Kitchloo.

Sakeena Masood, who got 36,623 votes, won by a margin of 17,449 votes, defeating Gulzar Ahmed Dar, who polled 19,174 votes in the D H Pora Assembly seat in the Kulgam district, according to the ECI website.

Sakeena Masood had previously won the Noorabad seat (renamed as D H Pura seat) twice in 1996 and 2008, while her father Wali Mohammad Itoo won this seat four times.

Another National Conference candidate, Shamim Firdous, defeated BJP candidate Ashok Kumar Bhat by a margin of 9,538 votes in the Habbakadal seat of the Srinagar district. Shamim  Firdous received 12,437 votes. Since 1977, the NC has won the Habba Kadal seat six times, with Shamim Firdous representing the constituency after victories in 2008 and 2014.

Twenty-nine-year-old Shagun Parihar garnered 29,053 votes, narrowly defeating Sajad Ahmed Kitchloo by a margin of 521 votes. Sajad Ahmed 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,” Shagun 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.

However, Iltija Mufti, former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter, lost the election from Surgufwara-Bijbehara, and former PDP minister Asiea Naqash lost from the Hazratbal seat.

Iltija, who polled 23,529 votes, lost by a margin of 9,770 votes to National Conference’s Bashir Ahmad Veeri, who polled 33,299 votes.

There were 41 women candidates in the fray in the Assembly elections.

In 2014, there were 24 women candidates in the fray, among whom Asiea Naqash won from the Hazratbal seat, while Shamim Firdous bagged the Habbakadal seat.

In 2008, there were 67 women candidates in the fray, among whom three candidates were elected to the assembly. 

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The Election Commission of India on Tuesday asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to explain why an order of deputation of an army officer to civil police was issued without the prior permission of the commission when the MCC is still in force.

J&K government had on Monday issued the order of appointment of Colonel Vikrant Prasher as SSP (Training) and Special (Operation) in J&K police.

The ECI order taking exception to this move said to the J&K government today in its letter: “The Commission has observed that the Model Code of Conduct is in force in J&K and as such there is a ban on transfer of officers connected to election is in force. Without going, at this stage into the rationale, process and urgency of posting an Army officer as SSP on the civil side during the period of operation of MCC, the Commission hereby directs that the order shall be kept in abeyance with immediate effect. If the order has been issued executed, the position before the issue of the order shall be restored with immediate effect.”

The ECI added that the Chief Secretary shall send the compliance report by 11 am on October 1 with an explanation as to why such an order was issued without prior permission of the commission.

Vikrant Prasher of the Parachute Regiment has already been cleared by the Ministry of Defence for a two-year deputation to the J&K government.

A Shaurya Chakra awardee, Prasher belongs to Udhampur district of J&K and he has distinguished himself in anti-militancy operations.

He was earlier posted at the high altitude warfare school (HAWS) in the Gulmarg area of the Valley.

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Three senior BJP leaders were suspended on Wednesday for contesting assembly elections against the party’s official candidates in Jammu and Kashmir, a party spokesman said.

J&K BJP vice president Pawan Khajuria along with senior party leaders, Balwan Singh and Narinder Singh Bhau, were suspended from the membership of the party on the recommendation of a disciplinary committee headed by Sunil Sethi, the spokesman said.

Khajuria and Singh had entered the election fray as an independent and a candidate of National Panthers Party (NPP), respectively from Udhampur East assembly segment where BJP has fielded former MLA R S Pathania.

Bhau is fighting as an independent from Chhamb constituency of Jammu against party candidate and former MLA Rajeev Kumar. Senior Congress leader and former deputy chief minister Tara Chand is also trying his luck from the seat.

The BJP spokesman said party’s working president Sat Paul Sharma ordered the suspension of the three leaders from the membership of the party for an “act of indiscipline” in contesting elections against the official candidates of the party.

The BJP has faced rebellion in nearly a dozen assembly constituencies with several of its prominent leaders announcing resignation and some jumping into the fray as independents to fight the elections.

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Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir:

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday announced five guarantees for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, including five lakh interest-free loan for women entrepreneurs and Rs 25 lakh health insurance per family, if the Congress-NC alliance is voted to power in the Union territory.

Campaigning for the alliance candidates in this south Kashmir town, Mr Kharge also said the Congress-NC government will give Rs 3,000 monthly to the women heads of families besides promising to restore the provision to give 11 kg grains per person through the public distribution system.

He said the promise for rehabilitation of Kashmir Pandit migrants, which was made during the term of Manmohan Singh, will be fulfilled.

The OBCs will also get their rights as enshrined in the Constitution, he added.

The five guarantees were read out by the Congress president in presence of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and other senior Congress leaders, including K C Venugopal and Subodh Kant.

Mr Kharge said there were one lakh jobs vacancies in Jammu and Kashmir but the current dispensation appointed by the BJP-led Centre is not filling them as “they want to keep people of Jammu and Kashmir poor”.

“We will fill these vacancies. They did not bring any industry, hence no job creation. We will focus on tourism and manufacturing. More than 4,400 government schools have been closed in the past several years. We will reopen them as we will focus on education,” the Congress president said.

Mr Kharge reiterated that the party will strive for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir while promising to restore a bi-cameral legislature in the Union territory.

“We will strive to get statehood for J-K. The bi-cameral House will be restored. They (BJP) keep asking how we will do it? When people are with us, we will do it as it is people’s power,” he added. 

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Jammu:

Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina on Thursday filed his nomination papers from the Nowshera Assembly constituency in Rajouri district.

Mr Raina held a roadshow in Nowshera with RSS functionary and former BJP general secretary Ram Madhav. This marks Mr Raina’s second contest from the seat.

“This isn’t just my candidacy, it represents the aspirations of 1.25 lakh people of the Nowshera constituency. It is their mandate and the voice of the people. The overwhelming turnout here, reminiscent of (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji’s rallies, shows BJP’s imminent victory,” Mr Raina said during a public rally.

Mr Raina thanked the people for their support, asserting that the massive turnout was a promising sign for the BJP’s prospects in the elections.

“The people of Nowshera await us with even greater enthusiasm,” he added.

Expressing confidence in the BJP’s victory in the polls, Mr Raina said he was hopeful that the party would form government with a majority.

Mr Raina also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his alliance partner National Conference for allegedly disrespecting the region’s Maharajas.

“The people of Jammu and Kashmir will respond to the Congress and its allies,” he asserted.

He further denounced the alleged remarks against tribals by some NC leaders and said the people would teach them a lesson in the elections.

Madhav urged voters to support BJP for continued peace, progress, and development.

“BJP will emerge as the single-largest party in Jammu… Our candidates contesting in the valley are strong and poised to lead in the elections,” Madhav said.

“The forthcoming government in Jammu and Kashmir will be of nationalists, not anti-nationals,” he added.

Mr Raina,47, who previously won from Nowshera in the 2014 polls, has been nominated once again from his home constituency. He took over as BJP’s Jammu and Kashmir president in May 2018.

Mr Raina’s primary opponent is former MLC Surinder Choudhary, who joined the National Conference in July 2023 after over a year with the BJP.

In the 2008 elections, National Conference candidate Radhay Sham Sharma secured the seat. In 2002, Congress candidate Romesh Chander Sharma won the seat.

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in three phases with voting for the first phase to be held on September 18 followed by the second phase on September 25 and the third phase on October 1. 

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Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said that her party is willing to support a Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir elections, provided they are ready to accept the PDP’s agenda.

“The people of Jammu and Kashmir have given an answer to the BJP government from the Lok Sabha polls that there are issues in Jammu and Kasmir and by removing Article 370, it has become more complicated…Whenever we allied with any party we had a motive, an agenda—what we have to do…That’s why I said that if they (Congress) are ready to accept our agenda, we are ready to support them,” Mehbooba Mufti told reporters.

Earlier, on August 24, Mehbooba Mufti remarked that for her, the upcoming assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir is not about statehood or seat sharing but a “bigger goal.”

During a press conference to launch the PDP manifesto for the upcoming assembly polls, Mehbooba Mufti said, “For me, this election (upcoming Assembly elections in J&K) is not about statehood or seat sharing… We have a bigger goal… We are fighting for dignity, for resolution.”

She further noted that alliances and seat sharing “are distant considerations” and indicated that if the National Conference and Congress are willing to adopt her agenda, she would support them, as “solving the problem of Kashmir is more important than anything else.”

In their election manifesto, the PDP promised efforts to restore Articles 370 and 35A, initiate diplomatic dialogues between India and Pakistan, and ensure the dignified return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley.

Notably, in the 2014 Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the PDP won 28 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 25, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference won 15, and the Congress won 12.

The PDP and BJP formed a coalition government led by Mehbooba Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. However, in 2018, the BJP withdrew its support from the alliance after Mehbooba Mufti took over following Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s demise.

Polling in Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1, according to the Election Commission of India. The counting of votes will take place on October 4.

These are the first assembly elections to be held in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.
 

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Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said that for her, the upcoming assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir is not for statehood or seat sharing but for a “bigger goal.”

During the press conference for the launch of the PDP manifesto for the upcoming assembly polls, Mehbooba Mufti said, “For me, this election (upcoming Assembly elections in J&K) is not for statehood or seat sharing… We have a bigger goal… We are fighting for dignity, for the resolution.”

She further said that alliance and seat sharing “are faraway things” and stated that if the National Conference and Congress are ready to adopt her agenda, then she will support them because for her, “solving the problem of Kashmir is more important than anything else.”

She further criticised the alliance between Congress and the National Conference, stating that the alliance is formed not on agenda but seat-sharing.

“When we allied earlier, we had an agenda; when we allied with the BJP, we had an agenda which they agreed to but the alliance between the National Conference and Congress is not happening on the agenda; it is happening on seat sharing. We will not do any alliance in which there is only talk of seat sharing. The alliance should be on agenda and our agenda is to solve the problem of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.

In their election manifesto, the PDP promised efforts to restore Articles 370 and 35A and diplomatic initiatives between India and Pakistan and ensure the dignified return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley.

According to the manifesto, the PDP “is resolute in its pursuit of restoring the constitutional guarantees that were unjustly scrapped and is committed to restoring Jammu & Kashmir to its original status, ensuring that the voices of its people are heard and their rights are safeguarded.”

The party also promised to advocate “diplomatic initiatives between India and Pakistan, emphasising conflict resolution, confidence-building measures, and regional cooperation” and the establishment of “full connectivity across the LoC for trade and social exchange.”

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PDP chief spokesperson Suhail Bukhari Tuesday quit the party ahead of the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

Suhail Bukhari told PTI he has quit the PDP, but he did not elaborate further. Suhail Bukhari was apparently miffed at not being given the mandate to contest the polls.

He had hoped to contest the polls from Wagoora-Kreeri, but the return of former minister Basharat Bukhari to the PDP last month diminished his chances of getting the ticket.

Suhail Bukhari, a journalist-turned-politician, was a close aide of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and had also served as her advisor when she was the chief minister

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