Srinagar: As counting votes for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 is underway, the early trends by the ECI show that the Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone is leading in Handwara with 5298 votes while the NC's Chowdhary Ramzan is at number second with 4102 votes.
Constituency: Handwara
Total Candidates: 7
Major candidates: Chowdary Ramzan (JKNC), Sajad Lone (PC), Azad Parvez (IND), Abdul Majid Banday (IND), Gauhar Azad Mir (JKPDP), Ghulam Mohammad (BJP).
Total votes: 98404
Male voters: 50026
Female voters: 48376
Trangenders: 2
Voter turnout in 2024: 72.78 %
Women voter turnout in 2024: 72.89%
Men voter turnout in 2024: 72.66%
Handwara assembly constituency in the frontier district of Kupwara has seen a high-voltage electoral contest between the National Conference and the Peoples Conference since the 80s when PC founder late Abdul Gani Lone, father of Sajad Lone, would contest elections before he joined separatism after 1987 allegedly rigged elections. After 1987, PC boycotted the elections as per the separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference, making boycotting a norm.
Chowdary Ramzan of the National Conference won the seat five times from 1987 until 2014 when Sajad Lone put a break on his winning streak. These two political rivals have made politics volatile and competitive in Handwara.
Seven candidates were in the fray in the Handwara constituency. Many analysts and pollsters predict that the main battle is between NC and PC in the segment.
Can Lone continue his performance in the 2014 elections to retain the seat, or will Ramzan continue his winning streak and represent Handwara for the sixth time? It will be decided on the counting day on Tuesday.
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