SRINAGAR: The Congress on Monday released a second list of six more candidates for the maiden Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory, fielding recently appointed J&K Party chief Tariq Hamid Karra from a Srinagar seat. The list was released after the assent of the Central Election Committee which met in Delhi on Sunday.
Karra who, recently replaced Vikar Rasool as J&K Congress chief, will contest from Central Shalteng Assembly seat in Srinagar. It would be the first major electoral battle for Tariq Karra after he won the 2014 general elections from the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat on a PDP ticket by defeating Farooq Abdullah; he quit PDP following the unrest over the killing of Hizb commander Burhan Wani on July 8, 2016.
Karra had earlier also won Assembly polls from Batamaloo constituency, which has now been rechristened as Central Shalteng after addition of some areas following the delimitation exercise post Article 370 abrogation. Besides, the Congress has fielded Mumtaz Khan, who recently returned to Congress from Apni Party from Reasi seat, Bhupender Jamwal from Mata Vaishno Devi, Iftikhar Ahmed from Rajouri (ST), Shabbir Ahmed Khan from Thannamandi (ST) and Mohammad Shahnawaz Choudhary from Surankote (ST). These six constituencies will go to polls in the second phase of the three-phase assembly elections in J&K on September 25.
Last week, the Congress had released the first list of nine candidates for the first phase of on September 18 featuring three former J&K Congress chiefs – Ghulam Ahmad Mir from Dooru, Vikar Rasool from Banihal and Peerzada Sayeed from Anantnag.
The Congress and NC have forged a pre-poll alliance for Assembly polls. Congress would contest on 32 seats in 90-member J&K assembly, NC will contest on 51, there would be a friendly fight on five.
Tariq won earlier from Batamaloo
J&K party chief Tariq Hamid Karra had earlier also won Assembly polls from Batamaloo constituency, which has now been rechristened as Central Shalteng after addition of areas following delimitation exercise post Article 370 abrogation. The Congress fielded Mumtaz Khan, who returned to Congress from Apni Party from Reasi, Bhupender Jamwal from Mata Vaishno Devi, Iftikhar Ahmed from Rajouri (ST) and Shabbir Ahmed Khan from Thannamandi