Srinagar: In the second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, scheduled for September 25, more than 25.78 lakh voters will cast their votes to elect the candidates across 26 constituencies in six districts. In all, 239 candidates are locking horns.
This phase, covering 26 Assembly constituencies across both Kashmir and Jammu divisions, will decide the fate of notable candidates, including Omar Abdullah, Ravinder Raina, Altaf Bukhari and Khursheed Alam, among others.
Key Constituencies and Voters
In the Kashmir Division, polling will be held in 15 constituencies across Ganderbal, Srinagar, and Budgam districts. Notable among these are Hazratbal, Ganderbal, Khanyar, Eidgah and Budgam.
In the Jammu Division, 11 constituencies, including Gulabgarh (ST), Rajouri (ST) and Mendhar (ST), are spread across the Reasi, Rajouri, and Poonch districts. The inclusion of seats along the Line of Control (LoC), such as Kalakote-Sunderbani, Thannamandi (ST), and Surankote (ST), adds a strategic dimension to this phase.
A total of 25,78,099 voters comprising 13.12 lakh male voters, 12.65 lakh female voters and 53 third-gender voters are eligible to vote. Youth participation is significant, with 1,20,612 first-time voters aged 18 to 19, as well as 19,201 persons with disabilities (PwDs) and 20,880 voters above the age of 85.
Competitive seats: Seats and Important Candidates
The phase will see several key candidates from major political parties, including the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC), Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and independents.
In Kangan (ST), the contest is between NC's Mian Mehar Ali and PDP's Syed Jamat Ali Shah. Ganderbal sees a high-stakes contest between NC's Omar Abdullah and independent candidate Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, also known as Barkati. In Hazratbal, NC's Salman Sagar faces PDP's Asiea Naqash.
Khanyar seat in downtown Srinagar is shaping up to be an interesting competition with NC veteran Ali Mohammad Sagar taking on PDP's debutant Tafazul Mushtaq. In Habba Kadal, NC's Shamim Firdous will battle PDP's Arif Irshad Laigroo. Lal Chowk features a multi-cornered contest between NC's Sheikh Ahsan Ahmed, JKAP's Mohammad Ashraf Mir and BJP's Aijaz Hussain Rather.
Chanapora will witness a face-off between JKAP's Altaf Bukhari and NC's Mushtaq Guroo, while Zadibal has NC's Tanvir Sadiq contesting against JKPC's Abid Hussain Ansari. Eidgah is another key constituency with NC's Mubarak Gul contesting against PDP's Khurshid Alam and independent Faheem Reshi.
In Central Shalteng, INC's Tariq Hameed Karra faces Independent Muhammad Irfan Shah. Budgam will see NC's Omar Abdullah in the fray once again, facing PDP's Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi. Beerwah presents an interesting contest between NC's Farooq Ahmad Ganaie and independent candidate Sarjan Ahmad Wagay alias Barkati.
Khansahib features a contest between NC's Saif Ud Din Bhat and JKPDF's Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen. Chrar-i-Sharif sees NC's Abdul Rahim Rather battling PDP's Ghulam Nabi Lone. Chadoora will have NC's Ali Mohammad Dar against PDP's Mohmad Yaseen Bhat.
In Gulabgarh (ST), NC's Khurshid faces PDP's Mohd Farooq, while Reasi sees competition between INC's Mumtaz Ahmed and BJP's Kuldeep Raj Dubey. The Shri Mata Vaishno constituency pits BJP's Baldev Raj Sharma against INC's Bhupinder Singh.
Kalakot-Sunderbani features NC's Yashu Vardhan Singh competing against BJP's Randhir Singh, while in Nowshera, BJP's Ravinder Raina is up against NC's Surinder Kumar Choudhary. Rajouri (ST) has BJP's Vibod Kumar facing INC's Iftkar Ahmed.
Budhal (ST) sees a face-off between BJP's Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali and NC's Javaid Iqbal. In Thanamandi (ST), INC's Mohd Shabir Khan will fight against PDP's Qamar Hussain. Surankote (ST) features INC's Mohd Shahnawaz against BJP's Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari.
Poonch Haveli has NC's Ajaz Ahmed Jan up against PDP's Shamim Ahmed and in Mendhar (ST), NC's Javed Ahmed Rana will take on PDP's Nadeem Ahmed Khan.
Strategic Importance
This phase is crucial as it covers border constituencies in Rajouri and Poonch districts, which have been under amplified security measures due to their proximity to the Line of Control (LoC).
The political dynamics of these areas, especially in Surankote and Mendhar, will be closely watched. A key aspect of this phase is the pre-poll alliance between the National Conference (NC) and Congress, where NC is contesting 52 seats and Congress 31. However, friendly contests will take place in five constituencies, including Nagrota, Banihal, and Sopore.
Polling Arrangements and Voter Participation
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has established 3,502 polling stations across these 26 constituencies, with webcasting in all stations to ensure transparency. Special provisions have been made, including 157 special polling stations, such as Pink Polling Stations managed by women, green stations and polling stations managed by persons with disabilities and youth. Voting will take place from 7 am to 6 pm, with the counting of votes for all three phases scheduled for October 8.
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