The World Opinion

Tag: J&K assembly elections

  • NC-Congress Alliance Stakes Claim To Form Government In J&K, Omar Meets Lt. Guv |

    The National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance took a significant step on Friday by formally staking their claim to govern Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Minister-designate Omar Abdullah met with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to present the coalition’s letters of support, just hours after Congress publicly backed Abdullah.

    Abdullah’s election as the leader of the NC legislature party on Thursday cleared the path for his return as chief minister. He previously held the position from 2009 to 2014, leading a similar NC-Congress coalition.

    In the recent elections, the NC won 42 out of the 90 seats contested in three phases, while Congress secured six seats. With the support of four Independent legislators and the only Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA, the coalition boasts a solid majority in the 95-member House.

    After his meeting at the Raj Bhawan, Abdullah spoke to reporters, expressing urgency for the swearing-in ceremony. “I met the LG and presented the letters of support from the NC, Congress, CPI(M), AAP, and Independents who have backed us. I requested him to fix a date as soon as possible so that the government elected by the people can start functioning,” he stated.

    Abdullah indicated that the oath ceremony is tentatively set for Wednesday, although he acknowledged some delays. “This process will take some time. It’s not an elected government replacing another elected government; we are under central rule, and the LG has to prepare documents to send to Rashtrapati Bhavan,” he explained.

    He further clarified the steps involved: “From Rashtrapati Bhavan, the documents will go to the Home Ministry for processing, and then they will be sent back. We’ve been informed it will take at least two to three days. I hope this process can be completed quickly, allowing us to hold the oath ceremony on Wednesday.”

    Earlier on Friday, the six Congress MLAs convened to authorize the party’s high command in New Delhi to select the leader of their legislature party. JKPCC President Tariq Karra announced that the meeting unanimously decided to delegate this important decision to the central leadership.

  • Meet Iltija Mufti: PDP’s New Hope To Retain Their Stronghold In J&K |

    The PDP has banked on Iltija Mufti, the daughter of party chief Mehbooba Mufti and a third-generation member of the family, to retain its Srigufwara-Bijbehara Assembly seat, a PDP bastion since 1996. The Srigufwara-Bijbehara Assembly seat, earlier known as the Bijbehara constituency before the delimitation exercise of 2022, is going to polls in the first phase of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18.

    A Three-Way Contest

    This constituency in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district has the least number of candidates — just three — of all the 24 constituencies that will go to polls three weeks from now. The other two candidates in the fray are two former MLCs — National Conference (NC) leader Bashir Ahmad Shah and BJP leader Sofi Mohammad Yousuf.

    Iltija Mufti’s Potential Impact

    If 37-year-old Iltija Mufti emerges victorious, it would strengthen the PDP’s — and the Mufti family’s — hold on this bastion that they have made their own since 1996. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who founded the PDP in the latter part of his long political career, started his electoral foray with a win from the Bijbehara seat in 1962 as a candidate of the NC faction headed by Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq.

    A Legacy of Leadership

    PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also started her electoral politics from Bijbehara, winning on a Congress ticket. She resigned from the Assembly when the senior Mufti decided to part ways with the Congress and floated his own regional outfit. Mufti loyalist and senior PDP leader Abdul Rehman Bhat won four consecutive elections from Bijbehara till 2014, the last Assembly polls held in Jammu and Kashmir. Bhat has been given the party ticket from the Shangus-Anantnag West constituency this time.

    Challenges from NC and BJP

    National Conference candidate Bashir Ahmad Shah will be hoping to break the PDP’s stranglehold on this constituency, which was represented by his father Abdul Gani Shah from 1977 to 1990. The oldest political party of Kashmir has invested heavily in Bashir Ahmad Shah, giving him the party ticket several times, even though he lost every time. He was even made an MLC when the NC formed a coalition government with the Congress from 2009 to 2014.

    BJP’s Ambitions in Kashmir

    In the intense rivalry between the NC and the PDP for the Bijbehara seat, Yousuf would be hoping to garner votes to give his party the first Assembly seat from Kashmir. Yousuf, who joined the BJP when it was still considered a “taboo” in Kashmir, has been well taken care of by his party. He was made an MLC during the PDP-BJP coalition government.