J&K Assembly Elections: Omar Abdullah, Altaf Bukhari, Ravinder Raina Among Key Candidates As 27 Withdraw Nominations From Phase 2 Of Polls

According to the Chief Electoral Officer, J&K a total of 266 valid nominations were submitted across 26 constituencies for this phase as of Monday, the last date to file the nominations for the 2nd phase of Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections scheduled to be held on September 25. Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, former minister Altaf Bukhari and State President BJP, Ravinder Raina are the prominent candidates in fray in the 2nd phase.

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Prominent leaders, including former J&K Chief Minister and National Conference's Omar Abdullah, Apni Party's Altaf Bukhari, and BJP's Ravinder Raina, are among the 239 candidates who remain in the fray for the second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024. This comes after 27 candidates withdrew their nominations on Monday, the last day to do so.

Omar Abdullah is contesting from Central Kashmir’s Budgam and Ganderbal constituencies, while Bukhari is running in Srinagar’s Channapora constituency, and Raina will be representing the BJP in Nowshera. National Conference's Ali Mohammad Sagar and Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen of the Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Front (Secular) are also key contenders.

According to the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, J&K, a total of 266 valid nominations were submitted across 26 constituencies for this phase, but following the withdrawal of 27 candidates, 239 contenders remain. Budgam district saw the highest number of withdrawals, with nine candidates opting out, followed by six in Srinagar, five each in Rajouri and Poonch, and two in Reasi. Ganderbal had no withdrawals.

Omar Abdullah of the National Conference is contesting from two seats in Central Kashmir, Budgam and Ganderbal. Similarly, Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari will contest in Srinagar’s Channapora constituency. Ravinder Raina, the BJP’s J&K chief, is in the race for Nowshera, one of the key seats for the party in Jammu’s Rajouri district.

In Srinagar, Ali Mohammad Sagar, the National Conference General Secretary, is competing in the Khanyar constituency. Similarly, NC's Mubarik Gul, PDP's Khursheed Alam and Apni Party's Ashraf Bhat will be fighting for the Eidgah seat. Another interesting contest will take place in the Lal Chowk constituency, where Zuhaib Mir of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) will face his uncle, Apni Party’s Ashraf Mir. Meanwhile, NC's Ahsan Pardesi is also contesting from Lal Chowk.

Meanwhile, Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen is running in both Khan Sahib and Charar-i-Shareef constituencies.

In Reasi district, six candidates are contesting the Gulabgarh (ST) seat, while seven candidates are vying for both the Reasi and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi constituencies. Rajouri district will see 11 candidates competing for the Kalakote-Sunderbani seat, five for Nowshera, eight for Rajouri (ST), four for Budhal (ST), and six for Thannamandi (ST).

Poonch district will feature eight candidates in the Surankote (ST) seat, eight in Poonch Haveli, and nine in Mendhar (ST). Ganderbal district will have six candidates in Kangan (ST) and 15 in Ganderbal.

In Srinagar, 93 candidates will compete in the upcoming polls. Among them, 13 are running in the Hazratbal constituency, 10 in Khanyar, 16 in Habbakadal, 10 in Lal Chowk, 8 in Channapora, 10 in Zadibal, 13 in Eidgah, and 13 in Central Shalteng.

Budgam district will see a final count of 46 candidates, with eight contesting the Budgam seat, 12 in Beerwah, 10 in Khansahib, 10 in Chrar-i-Shareef, and six in Chadoora.

In total, 309 candidates had filed nominations by the deadline in September 5. After scrutiny on September 6, 266 nominations were deemed valid. With the withdrawal of 27 candidates, 239 will now contest the second phase, scheduled for September 25.