Beigh, Lone, former JeI members join fray
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Sept 12: As many as 141 candidates have filed their nomination papers across 16 Assembly constituencies in three districts of North Kashmir which are going to vote in the third and final phase of Assembly elections.
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Today was the last day of filing nomination papers for the last phase of the Assembly election scheduled to be held on October 1.
A total of 111 candidates filed nominations in Baramulla district, 80 in Kupwara district and 50 in Bandipora district.
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Those who filed nominations included Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone. He filed nomination papers from Handwara and Kupwara assembly segments.
Accompanied by hundreds of workers and senior party leaders, Lone was taken out in a procession from his residence here this morning to the office of Returning Officer for Handwara segment where he filed his nomination papers.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Beigh, also filed his nomination as an Independent candidate from Baramulla constituency.
He expressed renewed hope in achieving his vision for a “Greater Baramulla” which he initially dreamed of during his tenure as a Member of Parliament.
Beigh, accompanied by his wife Safina Beigh and supported by his loyal workers, addressed the media on the occasion of his nomination
“When I served as a Member of Parliament, I had a vision for a Greater Baramulla, a vision that, unfortunately, remained unfulfilled at that time. However, now that I am contesting these Assembly elections, I truly believe that this dream can become a reality,” Beigh said.
He said that his manifesto would be released in due course, outlining his plans and priorities.
Senior Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party leader Basharat Bukhari also filed his papers today.
Bukhari highlighted that the PDP is dedicated to tackling both development and political issues in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We hope the people of Jammu and Kashmir will give us the opportunity to serve them. While development is important for any MLA, we are also focused on the unique political challenges in our region,” Bukhari told reporters.
”Our manifesto clearly states that solving the Kashmir issue is our top priority. We believe that addressing this issue will help resolve many problems our people face.”
Aijaz Ahmed Guru, brother of Mohammad Afzal Guru who was executed for Parliament attack today filed his nomination from the Sopore Assembly constituency.
Guru said that he will contest elections to fight for those who have been arrested in fabricated cases by the police, including his son Shoib.
He also aimed to address local issues, including employment, infrastructure development and youth rehabilitation. “I will prioritize Sopore, which has been neglected for a long time”, he said.
However, the move has not been welcomed by Tabassum, wife of Afzal Guru. She, in a statement said that Guru’s decision to contest the elections is entirely personal and has no connection to the Guru family or her late husband.
Former district president of the banned Jamat-e-Islami, Hafiz Mohammad Sikander Malik today filed nomination papers for Bandipora constituency as an Independent candidate.
Malik, a resident of Gundpora, Bandipora has served as district president of JeI until the organisation was banned. He was arrested in 2019 after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, and was twice booked under PSA and UAPA.
Sikander was released on bail on December 2, 2023. In 2024, when Jammu and Kashmir introduced GPS tracker anklets to monitor terror accused individuals on bail, authorities in Bandipora also affixed one to Malik to track his movements.
Former legislator and senior Congress leader Nizamuddin Bhat today filed his nomination papers for Bandipora seat.
Addressing a workers’ gathering at his official residence, Bhat reached Mini Secretariat Bandipora to file his nomination papers for Bandipora seat.
Bhat is contesting the election as an alliance candidate of the National Conference and Congress, as the constituency has been allotted to Congress in the seat sharing pact. Yesterday Bhat joined the Congress after hectic deliberations with the alliance partners.
Retired Bureaucrat Nazir Ahmad Mir son of former Minister Ghulam Qadir Mir also filed his nomination from Trehgam Assembly segment as Independent candidate. He said that his father had a lot of contribution in the development of the border district of Kupwara and people of the area forced him to contest. He said that he will try to come upto the expectations of the people of his constituency.
For the six constituencies in Kupwara district, a total of 12 candidates have filed nomination from 1-Karnah; 13 from 2-Trehgam; 9 from 3-Kupwara; 13 from 4-Lolab; 11 from 5-Handwara; while 22 candidates have filed nomination from 6-Langate.
For the seven Assembly constituencies in Baramulla district, 23 candidates have filed nomination from Sopore; 14 from Rafiabad; 7 from Uri; 26 from Baramulla; 14 from Gulmarg; 13 from Wagoora- Kreeri; while 14 candidates have filed nomination from Pattan.
In Bandipora district, 22 candidates have filed nomination from Sonawari; 23 from Bandipora; while 5 candidates have filed nomination from 16-Gurez (ST).
The notification for the 3rd & last Phase was issued on 5th September, 2024 and the last date for filing the nominations was today, i.e. 12th September, 2024 till 3:00 pm.
The nomination papers will be scrutinized by the respective Returning Officers on September 13, while the candidates can withdraw their nomination paper by or before September 17 upto 3:00 pm in the office of Returning Officer.
The polling day for these Assembly constituencies in the 3rd Phase is scheduled for October 1 and the voting will be conducted from 07:00 AM to 06:00 PM.
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