Soz-Azad clash delays NC-Cong seat sharing

Bigwigs in NC, Congress fail to get ticket; 16 candidates file nomination papers

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Mar 30: Factional warfare within Congress party has inordinately delayed seat sharing arrangement between the ruling coalition partners even as 15 candidates---including 4 each from National Conference (NC) and Congress---filed nomination papers for six notified vacancies in the Legislative Council on the last day of the process today. Contrary to wide expectations that businessmen would yet again grab the lion’s share, both the parties have, however, issued tickets on merit and dropped over a dozen of bigwigs who were all strong contenders.

Minutes before the deadline ended this afternoon, as many as 15 candidates of different political parties, including an Independent, filed nomination papers before Returning Officer and Secretary of Legislative Assembly, Mohammad Ramzan. As PDP’s Mohammad Ashraf Mir had already filed his papers last week, there are now 16 contestants for the six seats advertised through three separate notifications. One-odd Independent candidate, namely Abdul Gani Sofi, today filed his papers without the mandatory support of 10 MLAs. His nomination is sure to be declared as invalid during scrutiny on Thursday.

Legislative Assembly, comprising 87 elected and 2 nominated members, forms the electoral college for the election of six new MLCs, each for six years’ term.

Scrutiny of papers would be conducted tomorrow while as March 2^nd has been fixed as the last date for withdrawal of nominations. Voting, if necessary, would be held by secret ballot on April 13^th.

In absence of a settlement between the two factions, sponsored by J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Prof Saif-ud-din Soz, and the Union Minister of Health, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress finally fielded two of its candidates for one-odd seat it was likely to get in the coalition seat sharing in Kashmir. Azad’s right hand man and outgoing MLC, Abdul Gani Vakil, as well as Soz loyalist, Ghulam Nabi Monga, filed their nomination papers for the Kashmir seat. As the crisis affected entire arrangement, both the parties decided to field their candidates for four seats each.

Well placed political sources said that the crisis would be resolved in a meeting between the coalition partners here on Thursday. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, a number of his ministerial colleagues and party functionaries, J&K PCC President, Saif-ud-din Soz, senior Congress leader, Mangat Ram Sharma and AICC General Secretary incharge Jammu & Kashmir, were expected to participate in the meeting. Sources said that some candidates from both parties would be asked to withdraw nominations and clear out in favour of the finally selected nominees. This process would span over the next three days.

For the moment, there are now seven candidates for three vacancies in Kashmir valley. They include Mohammad Ashraf Mir (PDP), Dr Bashir Ahmed Shah Veeri (NC), Dharamvir Singh Oberai (NC), Abdul Gani Vakil (Congress Azad faction), Ghulam Nabi Monga (Congress Soz faction), Mohammad Maqbool War (BJP) and Abdul Gani Sofi (Independent).

For two unreserved seats of Jammu division, there are five contestants, namely Master Noor Hussain (NC), Yashpal Khajuria (Congress), Fakeer Nath (National Panthers Party), Satish Kumar (BJP) and Bharat Bhushan (PDP).

For the ruling coalition’s reserved---and thus safest---seat of Poonch, NC has issued its ticket to former Minister Ghulam Ahmed Ganai’s daughter, Dr Shehnaz Ganai, while as Congress has for the moment repeated one of its outgoing MLCs, Jehangir Hussain Mir. Besides, NPP has fielded Mohammad Saleem and BJP Ranjit Singh.

Contrary to widespread speculations, both NC as well as Congress have this time issued tickets to real political workers and denied the same to politicians basically known on account of their money and businesses. For the last many days, speculations were rife that two of the NC’s outgoing MLCs, one each from Jammu and Kashmir, had “already bought” their tickets.

NC’s potential contenders, who failed to get mandate, include all the four outgoing MLCs, namely Trilochan Singh Wazir, Mohammad Rasheed Qureshi, Altaf Ahmed Wani and Showkat Hussain Ganai. Other bigwigs dropped today include Dr Farooq Abdullah’s confidante and former Advocate General, Mohammad Aslam Goni, Vice President for Jammu Rattan Lal Gupta and Vice President for Kashmir Ali Mohammad Dar.

NC’s first time nominee, Bashir Ahmed Shah Veeri, is a post-graduate doctor by profession. In 2008 Assembly elections, he had resigned his job and become a contender for Bijbehara seat. Son of party’s senior leader and several times MLA and MLC, Haji Abdul Gani Veeri, Dr Bashir was, however, directed by the NC high command to surrender in favour of advocate Mohammad Ashraf Tak. However, PDP’s incumbent Abdul Rehman Veeri trounced his rivals badly and he was returned for the third term with a huge margin of votes.

Like Bashir Veeri, NC’s candidate for the reserved seat of Poonch, Shehnaz Ganai, happens to be a doctor. She too had resigned her job when Dr Abdullah committed to her publicly that she would be the party’s candidate from Poonch in 2008 Assembly elections. However, during the elections, NC preferred its former MLA late Ghulam Mohammad Jan’s son, Aijaz Jan. She finally got preference over the outgoing MLC, Mohammad Rasheed Qureshi.

Master Noor Hussain is one of NC’s senior most workers in Jammu.

Dharamvir Singh Oberai too is widely known for his long time association with NC. In Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s government in late 1970s, Singh functioned as Chairman of Srinagar Municipal Council.

However, one among Singh and Dr Veeri, is sure to be a loser this time. By all indications, NC would have to make the Congress candidate’s victory certain with more than half of the coalition’s assumed strength of 50 MLAs.  Among remaining two seats, PDP is certainly to get one with its advantage of 21 seats plus three expected from NPP. In other words, NC, Congress and PDP would clearly get one each seat in Kashmir.

While the coalition has a cakewalk in the reserved seat of Poonch, most likely to be given to NC, Congress, for now, appears to be sure winner on one of the two unreserved seats in Jammu. State’s only interesting fight would be witnessed on the second unreserved seat of Jammu. It could straightaway go to an opposition candidate who could manage to get support from PDP (21), NPP (3), JSM (1) and BJP (11). NC or Congress (as to be decided in tomorrow’s coalition meeting), could get this seat only in case it got support from all of its “associate MLAs” and there was no unity between PDP, NPP and BJP.

Informed sources said that NC was using all possible resources to clinch victory on Jammu’s uncertain seat.

Like NC, Congress too has obliged its real political workers and dropped a number of bigwigs. Strong contenders for the Congress ticket included former Vice Chancellor of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Choudhary Masood (brother of NC’s MLC Javed Rana), former Deputy Chief Minister Pandit Mangat Ram Sharma besides former Advisor to Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Janak Raj Gupta and two more former Ministers, namely Moola Ram and Jugal Kishore.

NPP has fielded former MLA Fakeer Nath but the party supreme Bhim Singh, contrary to wide speculations, has not jumped into the fray. That has come as an indication that there were least prospects of tie-up between PDP, NPP and BJP on the one uncertain seat in Jammu.

Having fielded a young management graduate, Ashraf Mir, in Kashmir and Bharat Bhushan in Jammu, PDP too has disappointed a number of its potential contenders like former bureaucrat Naeem Akhtar, former Ministers Mohammad Dilawar Mir and Tariq Hameed Qarra besides Qarra’s sister-in-law, Asiya Naqash.

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