Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 15: With tomorrow being the last date for filing of nomination papers for four seats of MLCs from Panchayat quota, all major political parties excepting the ruling National Conference have finalized their candidates. The NC would announce its two candidates—one each from Jammu and Kashmir divisions tomorrow.
Meanwhile, with a view to woo Sarpanchs and Panchs, who were disenchanted with most of the political parties due to non-empowerment of Panchayats, all major parties have fielded one Sarpanch for the Legislative Council seats for which 33,400 Sarpanchs and Panchs would vote on December 3.
Official sources said Congress high command today cleared the names of Pradesh Congress vice president Ghulam Nabi Monga for Kashmir and Sham Lal Bhagat, a young Sarpanch of Assar block in Doda district for Jammu division. Both of them would be filing their nomination papers tomorrow.
Monga had lost the election of MLC in the lottery system after getting tied with National Conference leader and former Chief Secretary Vijay Bakaya about three and a half years back. He was close to PCC (I) chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz.
Sham Lal Bhagat, a young Sarpanch won the Congress mandate from Jammu division as he reportedly had the blessings of AICC (I) general secretary Rahul Gandhi and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Bhagat’s nomination was reportedly an attempt by the Congress to assuage the feelings of hurt six legislators of the party from erstwhile Doda district, who had been alleging neglect of their areas due to denial of berth to any of them in the Council of Ministry.
Bhagat had reportedly won the confidence of Rahul and Azad as he had been doing a lot of work at the grass root level. Moreover, sources said, the Congress wanted to field a Scheduled Caste candidate from Jammu division and names of two party bigwigs—Mula Ram and Suman Bhagat, both former Ministers were doing the rounds. However, Bhagat triumphed over them for being a Sarpanch.
The National Conference, though officially undecided on names of the candidates till late tonight, was considering Ghulam Nabi Adigami, a Sarpanch of Kokernag in Anantnag district for Kashmir seat and Dr Shehnaz Ganai of Poonch for Jammu seat.
Adgami has also been doing a lot of work for the Panchayats and the local people while Dr Ganai had left the job after completing Master in Hospital Administration in New Delhi, which would have given her the post of Medical Superintendent. During MLCs election about one and a half years back, she had withdrawn from the race on directions of the party high command in favour of coalition partner, Congress.
Sources said several other names were also under consideration of the National Conference and a formal announcement would be made tomorrow morning by National Conference president and Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also happened to be National Conference working president, today left for New Delhi to attend Chief Ministers’ conference called by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Sources said since there were a number of contenders in the National Conference in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions, the party would take a decision tomorrow morning.
There was also an opinion in the National Conference that both provincial presidents Ali Mohammad Dar (Kashmir) and Rattan Lal Gupta (Jammu) should be given the party mandate but strong view of the party high command was that a Sarpanch should be fielded from one of the divisions.
Under the agreement between National Conference and Congress, both parties would contest one seat each from Jammu and Kashmir divisions.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the main opposition party in the State, which had a lot of stakes in both the divisions as it was wooing the Panchayat members on the ground that ruling Alliance partners have failed to empower them, today formally named all four candidates for the Legislative Council seats.
As reported exclusively by the Excelsior today, the PDP candidates included Ved Mahajan, a former MLC and Gurmeet Singh, a Sarpanch from Kaloen block in RS Pura and son of former party MP (Rajya Sabha member) Tarlok Singh Bajwa for Jammu seats and Pir Mohammad Hussain, former Minister of State for Health and PDD in Mufti Sayeed regime (Shangus) and Saif-ud-Din Bhat alias Shutru (Khansahib) from Kashmir division seats.
Gurmeet Singh, a Sarpanch is MBA from Derbyshire Business School of Derbi University, United Kingdom.
The BJP, as also reported by the Excelsior, today formally named Col Uttam Singh and Rashpal Verma for Jammu seats and Ashraf Ali for Kashmir seat. Though the BJP has not named any Sarpanch as its candidate, it has decided to support an Independent Sarpanch on one of the seat of Kashmir division for which it has not fielded its own candidate.
The National Panthers Party (NPP) has fielded Mohammad Rafiq Chandel, a Sarpanch from Udhampur and Anita Thakur for Jammu seats and Maqbool Malik and Dr Iqbal Wani for Kashmir seats, NPP chairman Harshdev Singh said.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had approved the names of Dr Harjit Kumar of RS Pura, state secretary and Ram Chand of Kathua, executive members for two seats of Jammu division. It would not be contesting two seats of Kashmir division.
Dr Kumar filed his nomination papers in Jammu today while Ram Chand would be filing the papers tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the BJP today constituted a 15-member Election Management Committee (EMC) for better coordination during the upcoming Legislative Council elections.
In view of the elections to four seats to be elected by Sarpanchs and Panchs, the BJP has constituted the committee under the leadership of State party president Shamsher Singh Manhas as its chairman, a BJP spokesman said here today.
The members of this election management committee are Dr Nirmal Singh, MLA Ashok Khajuria, MLA Jugal Kishore Sharma, Chander Prakash Ganga, Ashok Koul, Sat Sharma, Usha Choudhary, Bansi Lal Bharti, Thupstan Chhewang, Ali Mohd Mir, Sakina Bano, Sukhnandan Kumar, Sham Choudhary and Ghulam Ali Khatana.
November 16 is last date for filing of nomination papers while scrutiny of documents would be held on November 17. The candidates can withdraw their nomination papers till November 19. The polling would be held on December 3 and counting on December 6.
The Sarpanchs and Panchs of Jammu division would cast two votes each for Jammu candidates. Similar would be the process in Kashmir division.
Two candidates each securing highest number of votes in the two divisions would make it to the Legislative Council. Worthwhile to mention here that elections for four seats of MLCs from the Panchayat quota are being held for the first time after 1974.
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