Srinagar: As the counting of votes for the Langate assembly constituency concluded, the ECI declared Engineer Rashid's brother Khursheed Ahmed Sheikh as the winner, by a thin margin of 1,602, receiving a total of 25,984 votes. His close competitor Irfan Sultan Pandithpuri of PC came as second with 24,382 votes.
Langate seat witnessed a triangular fight between Congress-NC coalition candidate Khurshid, Irfan and Irshad Ganie of Congress.
Constituency: Langate
Total candidates: 15
Major Candidates: Irshad Ganie (Congress-JKNC), Sheikh Khursheed Independent (AIP), Syed Ghulam Nabi Bukhari (JKPDP), Irfan Ahmad Ganaie (Panditpori) (PC), Kaleemullah Lone (Independent, Jamaat-e-Islami backed)
Total votes: 120211
Male voters: 60056
Female voters: 60152
Trangenders: Nil
Voter turnout in 2024: 63.89 %
Women voter turnout in 2024: 61.64%
Men voter turnout in 2024: 66.15%
The Langate assembly constituency in the Kupwara district of the Kashmir valley is the most watched-out segment for the assembly elections and the counting day. The Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid has fielded his younger brother Sheikh Khursheed on the seat.
Khursheed, who quit the teaching job in the Jammu and Kashmir government, was fielded as an independent candidate by Rashid's Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), as the party is yet to get recognition from the Election Commission of India.
Khursheed is pitched against INC-NC candidate Irshad Ganie and Irfan Ahmad Ganaie (Panditpori) of the Peoples Conference and Syed Ghulam Nabi Bukhari of the PDP.
The constituency witnessed a high-voltage campaign by all 15 candidates, particularly by AIP and PC, as they are believed to be the main political rivals in the segment.
For Engineer Rashid, who is out on bail after five years of jail, the Langate constituency is a matter of prestige for him and his longevity in electoral politics. Rashid has won two assembly elections—2008 and 2014—from Lanagate.
The two consecutive wins catapulted him into the limelight of Kashmir politics. Come Tuesday, the counting day, the fate of Rashid's brother and other candidates will be decided.
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