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| Three straight contests in Poonch distt | | BATTLE OF HILLS –I | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Oct 30: A keen battle is in the offing in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri going to polls in first and second phases, respectively, as parties have opened by their cards for most of the constituencies.
The Peoples Democratic Party had declared its candidates for six out of the seven constituencies in these districts, the Congress and National Conference have declared nominees for all three constituencies of Poonch districts. BJP and Panthers Party, with their no significant clout in the region, have already declared their candidates wherever they had people ready to contest.
Congress and National Conference are locked in a double whammy on the candidature of their nominees for four constituencies of Rajouri district. Though the potential aspirants have been sounded about their candidature but the mandates have not been announced officially thus leaving a scope for last minute changes.
In the strategically located Poonch-Haveli constituency, there are three main contestants in Bashir Ahmed Naz of Congress, Ajaz Jan of National Conference and Imtyaz Bandey of the Peoples Democratic Party. Though Naz, an experiences hand and enjoying large clout over Gujjar community, enjoys edge but the contest seems between him and National Conference nominee.
In Mendhar, the surprise choice of the Congress has left the contest straight between Javed Ahmed Rana of National Conference and Rafiq Hussain Khan of the Peoples Democratic Party. The Congress has fielded a little known local businessman Abdul Majid whose name was new even for the local cadres. PDP already stands split in the constituency making it little easier for Rana who won with a record margin in 2002 and lost (as an independent candidate) with a thin margin in 1996. Another PDP leader Nisar Ahmed Khan was hobnobbing with Congress after being denied party ticket. This sulking leader may not contest independently but in any case is likely to work counter to the PDP interests.
A sort of clash of titans can be witnessed in the hilly Surankote constituency when Congress stalwart and Member Parliament Chowdhary Mohammad Aslam challenges two-time legislator, Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari of National Conference. Chowdhary won this constituency in 1987 but subsequently lost two to Bukhari in 1996 and 2002. Bukhari’s cousin and Peoples Democratic Party nominee Mumtaz Bukhari has more or less a ceremonial participation. |
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