Litmus test for veterans in north Kashmir’s Baramulla

It will be litmus test for several political veterans who are in fray from north Kashmir district of Baramulla, which will witness voting for the third phase of the Assembly elections tomorrow.

Baramulla district comprises of seven Assembly constituencies having a total of 7,24,335 electorates. A total of 908 polling stations have been set up in the district.

In the Baramulla Assembly segment, where 25 candidates are in fray, Muzafar Hussain Baig (78), is among the top candidates eying the seat. Baig, former deputy chief minister of J&K and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, had left the party in 2020 and is now contesting the elections as an Independent candidate. For Beig, this election is very crucial for his remaining political career.

In Baramulla district, according to poll officials, 20 candidates are in fray in the Sopore Assembly segment, 12 in Rafiabad Assembly segment, six in Uri, 25 in Baramulla AC, 13 in Gulmarg, 12 in Wagoora-Kreeri AC, and 13 in Pattan.

There will be a tough contest between PDP candidate Syed Basharat Bukhari and Congress candidate (NC-Cong alliance) Irfan Hafiz Lone, who is known for his social work, in the Wagoora-Kreeri Assembly segment. Bukhari, a former minister, rejoined the PDP in July this year. This seat is not only important for Bukhari, but also for the PDP, whose future hangs in balance. The PDP feels that Wagoora-Kreeri is one of the seats where it can secure win in north Kashmir.

In the Gulmarg Assembly segment, Apni Party candidate and top Kashmir politician Ghulam Hassan Mir is facing a crucial test. Mir, who has so far won the seat (earlier Tangmarg) three times, is now facing a crucial fight from NC candidate Farooq Ahmad Shah, a former bureaucrat. The fate of Mir would have an impact on Apni Party’s future in north Kashmir Baramulla district.

In the nearby Pattan seat, top Shia cleric Imran Raza Ansari, whose family won the seat several times, has to make extra efforts to woo voters this elections. Former J&K police officer and NC candidate Javaid Reyaz Bedar is contesting the seat and is among key contestants this time. Imran would make efforts to retain the family bastion.

In the Sopore Assembly seat, once a separatist hotbed, a militant stronghold and a bastion of late Hurriyat patriarch Syed Ali Shah Geelani, top Congress leader and former legislator Abdul Rashid Dar is trying to hold the seat. Rahul Gandhi visited Sopore last month to campaign for him.