After the delimitation exercise in 2021, much of the political dynamics have changed in Jammu and Kashmir.
As the changed political scenario has led to complex dynamics in various Assembly constituencies some political parties are taking advantage of the situation in the upcoming Assembly polls while the rest seem to be at a disadvantage.
The Kangan constituency is one such example where delimitation has given an edge to one candidate while the other prominent candidate had had to move elsewhere for improving his chances.
Now an ST constituency located in the Ganderbal district, the National Conference (NC) has fielded Mian Mehar Ali, the son of senior party leader Mian Altaf Ahmed, a five-time legislator who is now a sitting Member of Parliament (MP).
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate is Syed Jamaat Ali Shaheen, a noted personality of the Waliwar area.
Historically, the seat has witnessed tight contests between the NC, PDP, and Congress; even though the NC won the seat on all occasions in the past six decades.
In 2014, the segment was represented by the prominent NC leader Mian Altaf, who managed to hold on to the seat in a closely contested battle.
The people of Kangan, especially in the Gujjar-dominated area, have always voted for Mian Altaf, who has significant influence in the area.
Since Mial Altaf’s son Meher Ali is now being fielded from the seat the youth living here are turning up in large numbers to support him.
Experts suggest that the PDP has also made some gains in the non-ST-populated areas, and like 2014, the fight time is going to be a battle to watch out for.
In 2014, PDP youth leader Bashir Ahmed Mir gave a tough fight to Mian Altaf and lost the elections by a close margin of 1,500 votes.
Kangan is now an ST seat, and that is the reason why Mir is not challenging Meher Ali in Kangan and has instead opted for the Ganderbal assembly seat.
The PDP has, instead of Mir, fielded local candidate Syed Jamaat Ali Shaheen from Kangan.
Shaheen is a new entrant in politics and comes from a prominent family background but lacks political exposure.
This constituency has 78,904 registered voters, including 40,000 men and 38,904 women.
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