Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: On Monday, the Congress party unveiled its second list of six candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, with Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Chief Tariq Hameed Karra being fielded from Central Shalteng.
The announcement came shortly after the Congress Central Election Committee convened in the capital to finalize the candidates for the elections, which the party is contesting in alliance with the National Conference.
In addition to Karra, the Congress has selected Mumtaz Khan for the Reasi constituency, Bhupender Jamwal for Mata Vaishno Devi, Iftikhar Ahmed for Rajouri (ST), Shabbir Ahmed Khan for Thannamandi (ST), and Mohammad Shahnawaz Choudhary for Surankote (ST). These constituencies will be contested in the second phase of the three-phase assembly elections.
With this latest announcement, the total number of candidates declared by the Congress for the Jammu and Kashmir polls now stands at 15.
The meeting, held at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, was attended by prominent leaders, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary in-charge of Organization K C Venugopal, JKPCC Chief Tariq Hameed Karra, Jammu and Kashmir Screening Committee Chief Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and senior leader Salman Khurshid.
The Congress and the National Conference have finalized a seat-sharing agreement, with the National Conference contesting 51 seats and the Congress contesting 32 seats. Additionally, one seat each has been allocated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP).
Last week, the Congress released its first list of nine candidates for the elections, including Ghulam Ahmad Mir, who will contest from Dooru, and former JKPCC Chief Vikar Rasool Wani, who will run from Banihal. Other candidates include Surinder Singh Channi from Tral, Amanullah Mantoo from Devsar, Peerzada Mohammad Syed from Anantnag, Shaikh Zafarullah from Inderwal, Nadeem Sharief from Bhadarwah, Sheikh Riyaz from Doda, and Pradeep Kumar Bhagat from Doda West.
The Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections are scheduled to be held in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, with the vote counting set for October 8.
