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| Campaign reaches crescendo in Rajouri | | Mufti, Farooq, Azad convey last minute words as independents tighten battle | | ZAFAR CHOUDHARY
RAJOURI, Nov 20: With three former Chief Ministers taking a whirlwind tour to even remotest corners, election campaign is reaching a crescendo in this district which is going to polls on November 23 in the second phase of polling.
Four constituencies of Rajouri district, despite hilly terrain and adverse weather, are likely to register even a higher poll percentage than the neighbouring Poonch district which saw an average turnout of 70 per cent in first phase on November 17. Huge poll percentage in Poonch district was primarily due to keen contest between candidates which is emerging even much keener in Rajouri district. There are 59 candidates in four constituencies of Rajouri district and 23 among them are independents including heavyweight rebels.
While Peoples Democratic Party patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed reached district this morning, the rival Chief Ministerial hopefuls Dr Farooq Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad wrapped up their tour today. Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have wrapped up their hectic campaign tours.
Before heading for Gandebal where son Omar making efforts to restore the bastion to Abdullah dynasty, the Abdullah senior today took religious leader from Kashmir Mian Bashir Ahmed to Rajouri, Peeri and Koteranka for making the last minute swing for the party candidates. At thinly attended public meetings Farooq said the coalition government of PDP and Congress survived on hollow slogans while National Conference has a comprehensive program for future of Jammu and Kashmir.
Making a rebuff to Abdullah at his Rajouri rally, Mufti reminded the gathering that National Conference government, with two third majority in the Assembly at its command, had passed the Autonomy resolution but the same resolution was thrown into the dustbin by the then NDA government headed by BJP in which NC was also a coalition partner.
"Instead of taking a clear stand on that issue, NC leadership preferred to remain in the NDA for the lust of power", he said and reminded the gathering that Omar Abdullah was Minister in that NDA regime which had rejected the autonomy proposal.
Former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who addressed a public meeting in Koteranka area of Darhal constituency focused his speech against Peoples Democratic Party and sought an absolute majority for the Congress to “finish the pending developmental task”. He said, “during my tenure of two and half years, J&K beat the development records of past 60 years”.
While all three major political parties, the National Conference, Congress and Peoples Democratic Party, are in a keen contest with each other in three of the four constituencies of this district, the main worry for all is common: they have a host of rebels in the fray who are all set to change the electoral scene.
As many as 26 independent candidates are in fray out of 59 contestants in the ring for four Assembly constituencies of Rajouri district. In comparison, only three independent candidates are contesting from the two constituencies of Ganderbal in its maiden poll as a district in the second phase.
A total of 81 contestants will try their luck during the second phase of polls in 6 Assembly constituencies of Rajouri and Ganderbal districts on November 23.
Out of the total of 23 contestants in fray for Rajouri Assembly constituency, 13 are independents, the highest for any constituency during these elections so far. In Kalakote constituency, seven of the 13 contestants are independents while as Darhal has four independent candidates out of 12 trying their luck in the coming elections. Only two independents will contest from Nowshera Assembly constituency, out of 11 contestants.
In Ganderbal constituency of Kashmir Valley where 22 candidates are contesting, two independents are in fray from Kangan while as only one is contesting from Ganderbal constituency. |
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