Inside The Contest: Triangular Political Showdown In Anantnag

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- The Anantnag West assembly seat, one of the largest constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir in terms of population and area, is set for an intense triangular contest in the upcoming election, with candidates working hard to attract more voters.

The key contenders are National Conference's Abdul Majeed Bhat Larmi, People's Democratic Party's Abdul Gaffar Sofi and Democratic Progressive Azad Party's Bilal Ahmad Deva.

Political analysts believe the main contest is between NC's Larmi and PDP's Sofi, but Bilal Deva, being the only candidate from the Qazigund hamlet, could turn the tables.

Anantnag West was formed after the recent delimitation process when parts of the old Homeshalibugh, Devsar, Anantnag and Dooru seats were merged. The constituency's boundaries extend from Turk Tachloo, Khundur, Dialgam, Qazigund and other parts.

As this constituency is new, none of the candidates have represented it before, making the contest more unpredictable. However, parts of Homeshalibugh give an edge to both Larmi and Sofi, who have previously represented the area.

Abdul Majeed Bhat Larmi

Ab Majeed Larmi, born in 1961 in the village of Larm Ganjipora, comes from a politically connected family. His grandfather, Abdul Kabeer Bhat, was a key leader of the Muslim Conference in 1931. Larmi began his political journey in 1988 when he was appointed youth president for Kulgam and Anantnag districts by the National Conference.

In 2008, NC gave him the mandate to contest the Homeshalibugh constituency. He lost to PDP's Gaffar Sofi by nearly 1,800 votes but won in 2014 by around 1,600 votes.

Abdul Gaffar Sofi

Born in 1951 in Sofigund Wanpoo, Sofi completed his graduation in the early '70s and entered politics. He fought his first election on a Congress ticket in 1996 but lost. In 1999, he joined PDP and became one of its founding members. He won the Homeshalibugh seat in 2002 and 2008, serving as Health and Medical Education Minister. However, he lost in 2014.

Analysts believe the experience of both Sofi and Larmi will make this a close contest. Both have represented the constituency for a long time, keeping their party workers intact.

Bilal Ahmad Deva

Bilal Ahmad Deva, a grassroots worker, began his political career as a sarpanch and later became a DDC member. He is the only contesting candidate from the Qazigund area, which could give him a significant share of votes, making him a strong contender.

Historically, the seat was represented by Abdul Salam Deva of NC in 1977 and 1983, Ghulam Nabi (an independent) in 1987, Gul Mohammad Rafique of NC in 1996, Abdul Gaffar Sofi of PDP in 2002 and 2008 and Ab Majeed Bhat Larmi of NC in 2014.

Anantnag West has 1,26,006 voters (63,281 males, 62,724 females, and 1 transgender) with 146 polling stations (25 urban and 121 rural) .

2)
BJP Faces Tough Challenge In Doda West

Srinagar: The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is facing a tough battle from a newcomer in Doda west Assembly constituency which was being considered a safe seat for the saffron party.

This constituency was carved out of Doda and Bhaderwah constituencies of Doda district and some parts of Ramban constituency of Ramban district was also added to it.

87436 electorates including 45567 male and 41869 female voters are eligible to vote in the first phase of Assembly elections for Doda West Assembly constituency which will go for polls on September 18.

On this seat BJP has fielded former MLA and former minister Shakti Raj Parihar with an aim to win this seat as opposition parties didn't have any big leader to counter BJP. But a few months back a professor Dr. Pardeep Kumar Bhagat joined Congress party and has been given the mandate by the party along with the support from National Conference.

Being a member of the Scheduled Caste community, Bhagat is attracting lots of voters and Muslim population is also supporting him. But Parihar enjoys a good rapport among all the communities as he has never spoken against anybody in the district and has reached out to all the communities.

In this new constituency, BJP will be eyeing to win and make sure that it is a safe seat for the party whereas Congress is up for giving a surprise.

The campaigning of both the candidates is going at full pace and as the area is hilly, reaching out to each and every area is difficult in the next 10 days.

At present there are eight candidates in the fray for this seat which include BJP, Congress. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Democratic Progressive Azad (DPAP), Aam Aadmi Party, Shiv Sena Bala Saheb Thakrey and few independents.

5 DPAP Candidates Withdraw Nomination

A total of 25 candidates have withdrawn their nomination papers for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, including five from the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP).

The withdrawn DPAP candidates are Muhammad Aslam Goni (Bhadarwah), Fatima Begum (Inderwal), Muhammad Asif Khanday (Banihal), Girdhari Lal Bhau (Ramban), and Urfi Majid Wani (Doda).

Additionally, Bahadur Singh from the Jammu Kashmir National Panthers Party and Arshid Mutheir from the Bahujan Samaj Party have also withdrawn their nomination papers.

The nomination papers of 36 candidates have been rejected. A total of 594 candidates have filed nomination forms so far.

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