Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Election Results 2024: Tariq Karra Leads In Central Shalteng Constituency

The contest was majorly between the Congress-NC coalition candidate Tariq Hameed Karra and Abdul Qayum Bhat of PDP

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): The early trends by the ECI show that Congress party's Jammu and Kashmir President Tariq Hameed Karra is leading in the Central Shalteng seat with 5298 votes, his immediate opponent Noor Mohammad Sheikh, an independent candidate, is trailing. Former NC leader, Muhammad Irfan Shah, who was also contesting as an Independent against the NC-Congress coalition candidate got 1855 votes.

Constituency: Central Shalteng

Total candidates: 13

Major candidates: Tariq Hameed Karra (INC), Abdul Qayum Bhat (JK PDP), Irfan Shah (IND), Noor Mohammad Sheikh (IND) and Zaffer Habib Dar (Apni Party).

Total votes: 107770

Male voters: 54185

Female voters: 53576

Trangenders: 9

Voter Turnout in 2024: 31.84 %

Women voter turnout in 2024: 27.67%

Men voter turnout in 2024: 35.96 %

The Central Shalteng, renamed after Batmaloo, in the summer capital of Srinagar witnessed a lower turnout than the assembly constituencies in Ganderbal and Kangan of the neighbouring Ganderbal district. The segment saw intense campaigning by the 13 candidates during the electioneering.

NC and Congress fielded a joint candidate, Tariq Hameed Karra, from the seat. The Congress JK unit president got a major boost when the Congress leader and scion of the Nehru family, Rahul Gandhi, addressed a big rally in the constituency. However, the alliance of NC and Congress faced an unexpected candidate when the former legislator of NC, Irfan Shah, revolted and contested as an independent candidate against Karra. Surprisingly, the NC did not take any official action against Shah for violating the alliance dharma.

Karra, who won the seat in 2004 by-elections and went on to become finance minister in the PDP-COngress government of 2002-2008, expects to win the seat as he mobilised the voters towards his side. But Shah was supported by the NC workers and could act as a bulwark in Karra's win.

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