Srinagar: The counting of votes has concluded for the Central Shalteng constituency, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) declaring the Congress leader Tariq Hameed Karra as the winner. He has received 18,933 votes defeating his competitor the former NC leader Irfan Ahmad Shah by over 14,000 votes. Shah, who rebelled from the NC just before the polls, was contesting as an Independent against the NC-Congress coalition candidate. He got just 4,538 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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