Good Morning Inderwal, Beginning of a new era after two decades

Good Morning Inderwal, Beginning of a new era after two decades Image/FB profile picture of P.L.Sharma

VoM News Desk | October 11, 2024 | 08:39 AM IST | Articles/Editorials, Featured by VoM, Featured Edition, Jammu Kashmir, Kishtwar | Follow on Google News

SHAFQAT SHEIKH

The recent announcement of election results for the General Elections for Legislative Assembly 2024 in Jammu and Kashmir is significant as it has never happened in the past for decades together. Among all of the 90 Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, various new faces and emerging politicians secured their wins over the existing politicians who had been ruling for decades.

In all these constituencies, the 48 Inderwal Constituency in Kishtwar district faces many changes as such the Independent Candidate Shri Payare Lal Sharma secured victory with a margin of 600 votes against the Former Cabinet Minister, and Vice Chairman Democratic Progressive Azad Party G M Saroori who was contesting the election as an Independent candidate as yet not had resigned from the basic membership of Ghulam Nabi Azad led political party Democratic Progressive Azad Party.

The G M Saroori who earlier contested Assembly Elections as an Independent candidate in 1996 lost to the then National Conference candidate Qazi Jalal Uddin and later joined Indian National Congress and contested Assembly Elections in 2002 and secured a thumping victory over the National Conference candidate.

Later on, G M Saroori retained his seat in 2008 against the National Conference candidate wherein in 2014 there was expected a change as the local candidate Tariq Hussain Keen joined Bharatiya Janta Party and was contesting against the then Congress Candidate G M Saroori, but the Bharatiya Janta Party candidate failed to secure win over G M Saroori as there was a major change in political outfits as Bhartiya Janta Party and Peoples Democratic Party emerged as largest party in Jammu and Kashmir Election 2014.

Later on, after 2014, there was a major change in the whole political scenario wherein the Jammu and Kashmir state was bifurcated into two Union Territories one Ladakh without Assembly and another Jammu and Kashmir with Assembly.

After all, the Centre government failed to conduct assembly elections in 2019 and were conducted in 2024 after the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India to hold elections before September 2024.

The elections were announced by the Election Commission of India as per guidelines and implementation of the Model Code of Conduct to avoid any such untoward incidents during the election. The elections were conducted peacefully and there were no reports of any violence or any other mishappening during the election.

As the much-awaited result was to be declared on the 8th of Oct 2024, eyes were on the 48 Inderwal constituency which was once a hotspot assembly constituency in Jammu and Kashmir represented by mass leader G M Saroori who failed to retain his constituency from his right-hand supporter Shri Payare Lal Sharma who left G M Saroori in 2017 and made a thumping victory with a margin of 600 votes.

A total 09 candidates were contesting the election from Inderwal Constituency where a fight was in between the Alliance Candidate of Indian National Congress Mohammad Zafarullah Sheikh, Bhartiya Janta Party Candidate Tariq Hussain Keen, Independent candidate Payre Lal Sharma who was Provincial Vice President of National Conference before submitting his nomination papers, and Independent Candidate G M Saroori who had yet not resigned from Democratic Progressive Azad Party.

The unbelievable winning margin against the three terms MLA was not expected to lose this seat wherein the Alliance Candidate secured 12000 votes soon after joining the Indian National Congress a month after the declaration of the mandate. The Alliance Candidate Mohd Zafarullah Sheikh secured a majority of votes from his home region and youth votes of other regions lost the win with a margin of 1600 votes against the G M Saroori wherein the BJP Candidate Tariq Hussain Keen remained four number out of the total polled votes,1145 voted for NOTA, in Inderwal constituency.

The Inderwal wittiness a massive change and the beginning of a new era in the shape of Payare Lal Sharma who was a closed loyalist of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah and other party leaders, following his resignation over the mandate granted to Alliance for Congress Candidate Mohd Zafarullah wherein Payare Lal Sharma joined again and extended his support to Jammu and Kashmir National Conference for formation of government raising the majority figure above fifty seats.

(The author is a Freelance writer and Socio-Political Activist from Bunjwah Inderwal and can be reached at freelancershafqat@gmail.com 9419974577).

VoM News Desk

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