While the NC-Congress alliance swept to a majority in J&K, Tuesday’s results brought disappointment for the PDP and smaller parties
With the National Conference-Congress combine crossing the majority mark, the PDP getting just three seats, and smaller parties and Independents failing to live up to the hype, here is a look at the prominent winners and losers in the Valley after Tuesday’s results in the J&K Assembly elections.
Winners
Omar Abdullah: The National Conference vice president and former J&K chief minister won from both Budgam and Ganderbal Assembly seats, defeating PDP candidates in both constituencies by 18,000 and 10,000 votes respectively.
Tariq Hameed Karra: The Pradesh Congress Committee president won from the Central Shalteng seat in Srinagar, where he was up against national Conference rebel Mohammad Irfan Shah, who contested as an Independent candidate. Karra secured 18,933 votes as against Shah’s 4,538 votes.
Ghulam Ahmad Mir: The former Pradesh Congress Committee chief won by the largest margin in the Valley. He defeated PDP’s Mohammad Ashraf Malik by close to 30,000 votes from the Dooru Assembly segment.
M Y Tarigami: A joint candidate of the alliance including NC and Congress, the Communist leader secured his fifth consecutive win from Kulgam Assembly constituency. Tarigami defeated Jamaat-e-Islami backed Independent candidate Sayar Ahmad Reshi by around 8,000 votes.
Javid Reyaz Bedar: The former police officer defeated prominent Shia cleric and People’s Conference leader Imran Reza Ansari by 600 votes. Bedar’s win is significant as he dislodged Ansari from his family bastion. Imran Reza Ansari and his father Iftikhar Hussain Ansari had won the seat for five terms in the past.
Big losers
Iltija Mufti: The daughter of former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, Iltija lost to the National Conference’s Bashir Ahmad Veeri from the Bijbehara constituency – a family bastion of the Muftis. While Veeri won over 32,000 votes, Iltija could manage only around 23,000.
Sajad Lone: The People’s Conference president won from Handwara constituency, but he lost in Kupwara to PDP’s Fayaz Ahmad Mir. Lone stood third behind Mir and NC’s Nasir Aslam Wani. Mir secured over 27,000 votes and Wani got over 17,000 votes, but Lone won less than 8,000 votes.
Altaf Bukhari: The Apni Party president lost to National Conference’s Mushtaq Ahmad Guroo by over 5,500 votes from Srinagar’s Channapora – an Assembly segment that he had won in 2014. Bukhari was one of the two Apni Party candidates widely expected to win this time, but despite aggressive campaigning, he and his party failed to make a mark.
Abdul Rehman Veeri: The senior PDP leader, who earlier represented the Bijbehara seat, was moved to Anantnag East by the party this time. There, he lost to NC’s Reyaz Ahmad Khan by over 14,000 votes.
