In final push, all parties focus on Kupwara

Kupwara district in North Kashmir is gearing up for the final phase of the poll, with all eyes on this “political hotspot”. While being the home district of Lok Sabha MP Engineer Rashid and People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone, Kupwara is also a crucial base for PDP and NC.

The district has six assembly segments: Kupwara, Handwara, Langate, Lolab, Trehgam, and Karnah, with Trehgam being the newest addition after the 2022 delimitation. In the 2014 Assembly elections, PDP and People’s Conference secured two seats each, while Rashid won from Langate.

With campaigning intensifying, top leaders are focusing on Kupwara. “This is the only district where almost every party has a vote bank. Engineer Rashid and Sajad Lone belong to Kupwara, so it is a very important district when it comes to politics and in the context of ongoing elections,” notes Tahir Sayeed, a political expert from north Kashmir.

While Rashid has a stronghold on the Langate seat, from where he was a former MLA, he is now eying to spread his base to other parts of the district. In Langate, Rashid has fielded his brother Sheikh Khurshid, who is up against candidates of PDP, Congress, Apni Party, People’s Conference and an independent candidate backed by banned Jamaat-e-Islami.

“It is going to be a tough contest in the Langate constituency,” said a political leader in Kupwara.

Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party is leveraging its recent Lok Sabha election success, where Rashid won the Baramulla seat by a margin of over 2 lakh votes, defeating former chief minister Omar Abdullah and Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone.

Sajad Lone’s People’s Conference too has a strong base in Kupwara. In 2014, while Lone won from the Handwara assembly segment, party candidate Bashir Ahmad Mir won from Kupwara.

In the recent Lok sabha elections, while Lone stood third behind Omar Abdullah, he managed to secure a lead in the Handwara Assembly segment. While Rashid got 19,336 votes, Lone was successful in bagging 26,275 votes. Lone this time is contesting from Handwara and Kupwara seats.

The PDP, which won two seats in 2014 Assembly elections from the district is again upbeat, with the return of its two former leaders—Fayaz Mir and Haq Khan. While Mir is contesting from Kupwara, Khan’s son Waqar-ul-Haq is the party candidate from Lolab.

The NC on the other hand is banking on its dedicated cadre and hopes to repeat the 2008 election results when it won three of the five seats.