Campaigning for the second phase of Assembly elections in 11 constituencies across Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi districts of Jammu division ended this evening. The fate of several prominent leaders, including former ministers and legislators, will be decided when voting takes place on September 25.
Among the high-profile candidates are BJP UT chief Ravinder Raina (Nowshera), former ministers Zulfkar Choudhary (Budhal), Jugal Kishore Sharma (Shri Mata Vaishno Devi), Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari (Surankote), Shabir Khan (Thannamandi), and Aijaz Khan (Gulabgarh). The list also includes ex-legislators like Vibodh Gupta (Rajouri), Baldev Sharma (Katra), Javed Rana and Murtaza Khan (Mendhar), and Mumtaz Khan (Reasi).
In the final days of campaigning, the BJP rolled out its heavyweights. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a major rally at Katra, targeting the Reasi district constituencies. Union Home Minister Amit Shah followed with five rallies in Rajouri and Poonch on September 21 and 22. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also campaigned in the border districts. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari addressed voters in Budhal.
For the Congress, Rahul Gandhi led the charge with a rally in Surankote, accompanied by National Conference (NC) president Dr. Farooq Abdullah. Other NC leaders, including Omar Abdullah, also campaigned in key constituencies, as did PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.
Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi districts had 10 Assembly constituencies in 2014, which have now increased to 11 following the delimitation process. In the 2014 elections, the BJP, Congress, and PDP each won three seats, while the NC secured one (Mendhar). The BJP will contest all 11 seats this time, while NC and Congress have split the constituencies per their seat-sharing arrangement. PDP and BSP have also fielded candidates across many constituencies.
Several constituencies are seeing intriguing battles. In Budhal, former minister Zulfkar Choudhary (BJP) is contesting against his nephew, Javed Choudhary (NC). In Sunderbani-Kalakote, BJP’s Thakur Randhir Singh faces his nephew, Thakur Yasuvardhan Singh of the NC, in a family showdown.
In Nowshera, BJP’s Ravinder Raina is set to face a repeat of his 2014 contest with Surinder Choudhary, now running under the NC banner after switching from PDP. Rajouri is also seeing a high-stakes contest where BJP general secretary Vibodh Gupta will compete against Congress’s Iftikhar Ahmed and prominent spiritual leader Mian Mahfooz.
Surankote, a key constituency in Poonch, is witnessing a fierce battle between BJP’s Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari, Congress’s Shahnawaz Choudhary, Independent candidate Choudhary Akram, and PDP’s Javid Iqbal.
In Reasi, the newly formed Shri Mata Vaishno Devi seat has drawn a triangular contest between Independent Jugal Kishore Sharma, BJP’s Baldev Sharma, and Congress’s Bhupinder Jamwal. In the Reasi constituency itself, BJP’s Kuldeep Raj Dubey faces Congress’s Mumtaz Khan.
The second phase of polling in these crucial constituencies is set to take place on September 25, as voters prepare to decide the political future of these key districts.
