NC-Congress likely to bag 35-40 seats, BJP on 28
The Diplomat Desk
Srinagar,(TDD) : As the wait has ended for the candidates in fray for 90 seats of J&K Assembly, the early counting trends today suggest that National Conference has managed a big lead in all seats of Srinagar district thereby seemingly retaining its old fort.
The crucial eight seats of Srinagar district include Hazratbal, Habba Kadal, Central Shalteng, Zadibal, Eidgah, Chanapora, Lal Chowk and Khanyar. Figures released by the ECI indicate that from Hazratbal, NC candidate Salman Ali Sagar is leading while PDP leader Asiya Naqash is trailing behind with a margin of over 4000 votes. In Habba-Kadal NC’s woman face Shameema Firdous was leading from round first itself while others that include BJP’s Ashok Bhat and PDP’s Arif Laigroo are trailing behind with a huge margin.
In Central Shalteng, NC-Congress joint candidate and PCC chief Tariq Hameed Karra is leading with a margin of 5000 votes while as in Zadibal seat NC’s Tanvir Sadiq is leading with a margin of 2000 votes. In Chanapora, the big wig and J&K Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari is trailing behind against NC’s Mushtaq Guroo with a margin of 1500 votes.
In Lal Chowk, exit polls are proving to be correct as NC candidate Ehsan Pardesi is emerging a winning candidate. He is leading with a huge margin while as Apni Party candidate Ashraf Mir and BJP’s young face Er Aijaz Hussain seem to be no where in the race. Ehsan is leading with a margin of 2500 votes.
In Khan, the party also seem to be on the front seat as veteran Ali Muhammad Sagar seems to be sailing through easily. The four-time MLA is sure about his victory. “People are with us. That has been proved,” Sagar told TDD.
Eidgah seat is also going to be NC’s way as the trend suggests. Mubarak Gul, the party’s face is confidence about his victory. He is leading with over 1000 votes so far. Five rounds of counting have been completed so far while as 10 to 12 rounds are still pending.
Meanwhile, in Ganderbal, Omar Abdullah is leading with a margin of 2000 votes against PDP’s Bashir Mir while in Kangan, Mian Mehar Ali is trailing behind PDP’s Syed Jamat Ali Shah. Till the completion of four rounds, Mehar had bagged 8978 votes while Shah had pocketed 9114 votes.
In Bijbhera, PDP’s Iltija Mufti was also trailing behind NC’s Bashir Ahmed Veeri. TDD had already reported that in Bijbhera the contest was going to be a thrilling one. Here, trends suggest that Veer may sail through but with a very thin margin of 500 to 1000 votes. In the saffron town, there is a tough fight between PDP’s Zahoor Mir and NC’s Hasnain Masoodi. Both are neck to neck so far with a different of 50 votes only.
In Budgam, Omar is leading as well. And in Beerwah, jailed cleric Sarjan Barkati is leading against Nazir Khan of AIP. What is interesting to note that AIP led by Er Rashid has not been able to maintain the same speed of “pressure cooker” what it had in Lok Sabha polls. In Kulgam, where Jamaat factor was visible, the veteran politician M Y Tarigami who was also joint candidate of NC-Congress is emerging as a winner.
ECI figures available with the Diplomat. Digital suggest that NC was leading on 35 seats, majority of them in Kashmir, BJP on 28 seats, all of them in Jammu region. Congress is also leading on six seats in J&K while PDP is leading on five seats. PDP is all set to bag two to four seats. Peoples Conference led by Sajad Lone is also leading on two seats of North Kashmir. The counting trends present a clear picture that NC-Congress may emerge as winners and also form the government as well (TDD)
