The party announced its decision to field Bashir Ahmad Mir a day after the NC announced Omar Abdullah as its candidate for the Assembly seat….reports Asian Lite News
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday decided to field its leader, Bashir Ahmad Mir against former Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah in J&K’s Ganderbal Assembly constituency.
The party announced its decision to field Bashir Ahmad Mir a day after the NC announced Omar Abdullah as its candidate for the Assembly seat.
Interestingly, NC and PDP are partners in the INDIA bloc. And, a few days ago, Omar Abdullah had asked the PDP not to field candidates against NC-Congress nominees for the betterment of J&K.
Also Read
Bashir belongs to the adjacent Kangan Assembly constituency and has fought elections unsuccessfully twice against the NC’s formidable candidate, the senior Gujjar leader, Mian Altaf Ahmad.
Kangan constituency was declared an ST reserved constituency after the delimitation of the Assembly constituency. Only a tribal candidate can fight elections from this reserved constituency.
It was because of Bashir’s inability to stand for the PDP from the Kangan constituency as he does not belong to the tribal Gujjar community, that prompted the PDP to try him from the adjacent Ganderbal constituency.
In the last Assembly polls in 2014, PDP had won 28 seats and later formed the government with BJP, which had won 25 seats. The Peoples Conference (PC) headed by Sajad Gani Lone also announced the names of party candidates on Wednesday.
Abdul Gani Vakil has been fielded for the Rafiabad constituency, Nazir Ahmad Laway for Kulgam, Abid Hussain Ansari for Zadibal, Irfan Mattoo for Eidgah, Dr Bashir Ahmad Chalkoo for Uri, Asif Lone for Baramulla and Mohd Hamza Lone for Gurez.
Of these constituencies, Rafiabad, Uri and Baramulla constituencies are located in the Baramulla district. Zadibal and Eidgah are in the Srinagar district, Gurez in the Bandipora district, and Kulgam constituency is located in the Kulgam district.
Four former members of the Jamaat-e-Islami organisation filed their nomination papers for the first phase of Assembly elections on Tuesday. These candidates have filed nomination papers for Pulwama, Kulgam, Devsar and Shopian.
The daughter of jailed separatist cleric, Sarjan Ahmad Wagay alias Sarjan Barkati has filed papers for her father for the Shopian Assembly seat. Sarjan and his wife are presently in jail in connection with a money laundering racket linked to terror funding.
EC rejects fiery cleric’s nomination papers
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday rejected the nomination papers of the fiery cleric Sarjan Ahmad Wagay in J&K’s south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
Sarjan Ahmad Wagay alias Sarjan Barkati alias ‘Azadi Chacha’ shot to the limelight in 2016 after the killing of Hizbul poster boy Burhan Wani by the security forces in the Kokernag area of Anantnag district on July 8, 2016.
Barkati through his highly surcharged vitriolic speeches against India incited youth to pick up arms and resort to violence.
He is presently in jail along with his wife in connection with a money laundering case connected to terror funding.
His daughter had filed his nomination papers before the district electoral officer for the Zainpora Assembly seat in the Shopian district on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the ECI rejected Barkati’s nomination papers together with 23 others for various deficiencies under the election laws.
Former Chief Minister and PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti said on the rejection of Barkati’s nomination papers: “Sorry to hear about the rejection of assembly nomination form of Sarjan Barkati from Zainpora. The Election Commissioner must make the reasons public for this decision. Democracy is a battle of ideas and everyone should be given a chance to participate in it.”
After Barkati’s exit from the electoral arena, there are only four Jamaat-e-Islami ex-members whose fate is yet to be decided by the ECI regarding the acceptance or rejection of their nomination papers.
In another significant development, former chief minister and president of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), Ghulam Nabi Azad has expressed his inability on health grounds to campaign for his party candidates.
Azad also left the choice of withdrawing their names from the electoral fray open to the DPAP candidates who have filed their nomination papers for the assembly elections.
ALSO READ: India, Pakistan tiptoe around the nuclear threat
[soliloquy id="151345"]