Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 16: First ever election to four seats of Legislative Council from Panchayat quota were set for a multi-cornered contest with all major political parties jumping into the fray by fielding their candidates on last day of filing nomination papers. A total of 40 candidates in two divisions of Jammu and Kashmir have filed nominations, 24 in Jammu division and 16 in Kashmir.
While People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has fielded six candidates including two covering nominees, four nominees of the National Panthers Party (NPP) joined the electoral fray today. The BJP has fielded three candidates and the BSP two while the Samajwadi Party has decided to stay away.
Alliance partners—the National Conference and Congress (I), as per an agreement, fielded candidates for two seats each—one each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions. The `Third Front’ comprising CPM veteran MY Tarigami and former Minister Hakim Mohammad Yasin among others didn’t field any candidate but kept their option of supporting ‘potential and viable’ candidates open, whose names would be decided in a meeting on November 19 or 20.
A total of 33,540 Sarpanchs and Panchs comprised Electoral College for elections four candidates to the Legislative Council in December 3 election. While 15,628 Sarpanchs and Panchs would vote for two candidates in Jammu division, 17,912 Panchayat members would press the buttons of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in Kashmir division for an equal number of candidates. Scrutiny of documents would be held tomorrow while the candidates can withdraw their nominations till November 19. Election would be held on December 3 and counting on December 6.
The National Conference and the NPP have fielded one woman candidate each while Congress, NPP and PDP have fielded one Sarpanch each for the elections. Many Sarpanchs have joined the fray as Independent candidates. Two covering candidates of the PDP were also Sarpanchs.
While National Conference and Congress were contesting the elections in alliance with each other with both parties fielding two candidates each, one each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions, the stage is set for direct contest among coalition candidates, PDP, BJP and NPP nominees.
Political observers were of the view that Alliance candidates would face PDP nominees in Kashmir while in Jammu division it would be a fight between coalition representatives, BJP, PDP and NPP. Some Independent candidates, mostly Sarpanchs could also bag handsome number of votes, they said.
In Kashmir, separatist leader and People’s Conference chairman has fielded Mohammad Kamaal Malik of Budgam for one seat of Kashmir and decided to support Khursheed Ahmad Malik of Anantnag for second seat. Malik is a representative of Panchayat Representatives Forum of Kashmir.
Independent MLA from Langate, Engineer Rashid has also fielded two Sarpanchs for two seats of Kashmir division.
The National Conference has fielded Dr Shehnaz Ganai, a party leader from border district of Poonch and daughter of former Minister GA Ganai for Jammu division seat. Dr Ganai had left the job of Master in Hospital Administration (MHA) to join the politics at the behest of NC top leadership. The NC had fielded her for the post of MLC earlier but had withdrawn here from the race in support of the Congress nominee.
Accompanied by Industries and Commerce Minister Surjit Singh Slathia, Political Advisor to Chief Minister, Devender Singh Rana and NC provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta, Dr Ganai filed her nomination papers before Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Pradeep Gupta, who had been designated as Returning Officer for the elections by the Election Commission.
“NC has given mandate to a woman and I’m quite confident that Panchayat members would repose their faith in the coalition candidates’’, Dr Ganai said.
National Conference provincial president for Kashmir Ali Mohammad Dar, a former Sarpanch from Chattergam, filed his papers in Srinagar before Divisional Commissioner, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon. He was also accompanied by several veteran leaders of the party while filing his papers.
Excelsior had today exclusively reported that Dr Shehnaz Ganai and Ali Mohammad Dar were among the probable candidates of the National Conference, which made formal announcement of its nominees today morning.
Congress candidates Ghulam Nabi Monga from Kashmir and Sham Lal Bhagat from Jammu, whose candidature had been announced yesterday by the party high command, filed their nomination papers today.
Mr Bhagat, who happened to be a Sarpanch from Kandi Nalla in Assar block of Doda district, filed his papers before the Deputy Commission Doda, who happened to be the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO), this morning.
All MLAs and MLCs of Congress from erstwhile Doda district including Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, Mohammad Sharief Niaz, Abdul Mujeed Wani, Ashok Kumar, Vakar Rasool and Naresh Gupta besides MLA Chenani Krishan Chand Bhagat and other senior party leaders and workers joined Mr Bhagat in filing his papers.
Mr Bhagat thanked Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad for his candidature.
Congress State vice president Ghulam Nabi Monga, a veteran party leader, filed his papers before the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir in the presence of senior party leaders of the Valley.
Monga had nearly made it to the Legislative Council about three and a half year back after getting tied with NC leader and former Chief Secretary Vijay Bakaya but lost in the lottery system.
Four candidates of the main opposition party, the PDP filed their papers for two seats of Jammu while in Kashmir two party leaders entered the election battle. Two PDP leaders in Jammu were covering candidates.
Two PDP candidates, who have been fielded by the party high command for an equal number of seats in Jammu divisions, were Ved Mahajan, former MLC and Gurmeet Singh Bajwa, a Sarpanch from RS Pura tehsil and son of PDP’s former Rajya Sabha member Tarlok Singh Bajwa.
Two covering candidates of the PDP, who filed their papers for two Jammu seats, were Parbhakar Singh and Sukhdev Sharma, both Sarpanchs. All four PDP candidates submitted their nomination papers to the office of the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu in the presence of senior party leaders.
For two seats of Kashmir, the PDP has fielded former Minister in Mufti Sayeed regime, Peer Mohammad Hussain and Yasir Reshi. They filed their nomination papers in Srinagar in the presence of top party leadership.
The BJP has fielded three candidates, two for Jammu seats and one for Kashmir. It would be supporting any Independent Sarpanch candidate for second seat of the Valley.
BJP nominees Col (Retd) Uttam Singh and Rashpal Verma for two Jammu seats filed their nomination forms before the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu in the presence of State party chief Shamsher Singh Manhas, Dr Nirmal Singh, Ashok Khajuria, Jugal Sharma, Kavinder Gupta, Sat Sharma, Ramesh Arora, Lalit Moza, Sukhnandan Kumar, Sakina Bano, Rajinder Sharma and Vijay Sharma.
The candidates were taken to the office of the Divisional Commissioner in a process from the party office. The BJP leaders, activists and supporters garlanded them and expressed confidence of their victory.
In Srinagar, the BJP nominee, Dr Ashraf Ali from Kargil district filed his papers before the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir in the presence of Chander Prakash Ganga, Dr Ali Mohammad Mir, Altaf Thakur, Mohammad Maqbool War, Manzoor Kulgami, Ashraf Rishi, Bashir Ahmad and Arif Raja.
The NPP candidates Anita Thakur and Mohammad Rafiq Chandel, a Sarpanch from Udhampur filed their nomination papers for Jammu seats while Mohammad Maqbool Malik of Baramulla and Dr Mohammad Iqbal Wani of Anantnag joined the fray from Kashmir seats.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Ram Chand today filed his nomination papers before Deputy Commissioner, Kathua, Zahida Khan today. Dr Harjit Kumar of RS Pura, state secretary of the party had filed his papers here yesterday. The BSP would be contesting only two seats of Jammu division.
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.
‘Third Front’ comprising senior leaders Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami and Hakim Mohammad Yasin among others have not fielded any candidate but kept the options of supporting any two candidates in Kashmir division open.
“We will meet on November 19 or 20 and finalise candidates for our support’’, Mr Tarigami told the Excelsior on telephone from New Delhi.
Besides BSP’s Ram Chand, Kartar Singh, Choudhary Sultan Ali, Thoru Ram and Jatinder Singh have also filed nomination papers in Kathua district for Jammu division seat.
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