August 2024 | Page 3 of 12

Junaid Azim Mattu Steps Down from JK Apni Party, Sparks Speculation Ahead of Polls

August 28, 2024 Editor

Srinagar, 28 Aug: In a significant political development, Junaid Azim Mattu, a senior leader of the Jammu Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP), has announced his resignation from the party. He resigned from the party days after he was declared as its candidate from Zadibal segment. Mattu made the announcement about his resignation from the Apni Party, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday night. Mattu claimed that the decision was made after extensive consultations with his supporters. “It is with a…

Following Protests, BJP Replaces Rohit Dubey with Baldev Raj Sharma in Vaishno Devi

August 28, 2024 Editor

A day after the BJP released its first list of candidates and later withdrew it following protests by party workers, the saffron party again released a list of 29 candidates with only one change on Tuesday. The party has changed the candidate for the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi constituency. Earlier, the party has allocated this seat to Rohit Dubey, but now it has been given to Baldev Raj Sharma. Party workers and local leaders had staged a protest demonstration at the BJP headquarters in Jammu after the party released a…

Jailed Religious Leader Sarjan Barkati to Contest in Upcoming Assembly Elections

August 28, 2024 Editor

Srinagar: A popular religious cleric Sarjan Ahmad Wagay aka Sarjan Barkati, who is in jail in a terror funding case, is set to contest the upcoming legislative assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir as independent candidate. Quoting family, new agency news agency KNO reported that they are filing nominations papers today at DC office Shopian. They said that they have already conducted a meeting with locals in Reban, the native village of Barkati, and will leave toward Shopian to file his nomination papers. Barkati’s daughter is expected to hold a press…

South Kashmir Sees Ex-Jamaat Members Running on Youth, Mainstream Platforms

August 28, 2024 Editor

The banned outfit is also backing another Independent in J&K first phase polls; it proposed to field seven candidates for this phase, but three of them backed out Three former members of the banned outfit Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir filed their nomination papers from various constituencies of South Kashmir on Tuesday, the last day for filing nomination for the first phase of the upcoming J&K Assembly elections. These Jamaat-e-Islami nominees include Dr Talat Majeed, Sayar Ahmad Reshi and Nazir Ahmad. The Jamaat is also backing another Independent candidate Umar Hamid in…

NC Leader Omar Abdullah to Run from Historic Ganderbal Constituency in J&K Elections

August 27, 2024August 27, 2024 Editor

For the National Conference, Ganderbal is considered its strong hold as the constituency in the past had elected three generations of Abdullah family. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah will contest from the Ganderbal constituency in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. For the National Conference, Ganderbal is considered its strong hold as the constituency in the past had elected three generations of Abdullah family — NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in 1977, his son Farooq Abdullah thrice in 1983, 1987 and 1996 and Omar Abdullah was elected…

BJP’s First List Sparks Discord: Ex-Deputy CMs Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta Missing

August 27, 2024 Editor

As per the now withdrawn list, BJP had allocated Budhal seat to Chowdhary Zulfikar Ali, who recently joined BJP after quitting Apni Party. It also named Chowdhary Abdul Gani, who switched from the Congress to the saffron party, from Poonch Haveli constituency. Murtaza Khan, who was previously associated with the PDP, was named from Mendhar in Poonch. The inclusion of these names infuriated the local BJP cadre of the Jammu region. Protesters also raised questions over allocating Akhnoor seat to former SSP Mohan Lal Bhagat, who recently took voluntary retirement.…

MHA Approves Creation of 5 New Districts in Ladakh; Locals Celebrate Decision

August 27, 2024August 27, 2024 Editor

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday decided to create five new districts in Ladakh. Informing about this decision in a post on the microblogging site ‘X’, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah said that with this decision, the new districts – Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra, and Changthang – will take the benefits meant for the people to their doorsteps by bolstering governance in every nook and cranny. “After the formation of these five districts, there will now be a total of seven districts in Ladakh, including…

Jamaat-E-Islami J&K: Committed to Democracy, Candidates to Run as Independents Amid Ban

August 27, 2024 Editor

Will follow democratic path even if hurdles created: J&K’s banned Jamaat; Candidates to contest as Independents: Senior member The banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI-JK) is all set to “unanimously” contest the Assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir next month after more than 30 years, and will “follow the democratic path, even if hurdles are created,” Jamaat senior member Ghulam Qadir Lone has told . In an interview , Lone, however, admitted that because the ban on the Jamaat remains in place, all candidates will contest as Independents. A senior member of the…

Rahul Gandhi: ‘Running J&K from Delhi Defies Logic, Local Governance is Key’

August 27, 2024 Editor

In a video of his recent visit to Srinagar, the Congress leader talked about the upcoming elections in J&K and mentioned how statehood had been taken away for the first time in Indian history Reiterating the demand for the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said it does not make sense to run J&K from Delhi. Mr. Gandhi made these remarks during an interaction with Kashmiri women during his recent visit to Srinagar, a video of which was released on…

Resignations Shake Up Political Landscape: 2 PDP, 1 BJP DDC Members Step Down Ahead of J&K Polls

August 27, 2024 Editor

Angry over candidate selection for upcoming assembly polls, three district development council (DDC) members in south Kashmir – two from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and one from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – resigned from their parties Angry over candidate selection for upcoming assembly polls, three district development council (DDC) members in south Kashmir – two from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and one from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – resigned from their parties on Monday. DDC chairperson Shopian Bilquees Bano and member Harmain Abdul Rashid Lone on Monday resigned from the…