j-k-polls-phase-iii-kupwara-set-for-triangular-showdown

Two phases of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections are over, and now it’s time for phase III, when the future of some prominent candidates will be decided. 

North Kashmir’s Kupwara Assembly constituency is gearing up for a triangular showdown between the People’s Conference (PC),  National Conference (NC), and Peoples Democratic Party. 

However, the Kupwara segment has traditionally been a battleground between the NC and PC, and this year also the main contest is between PC chief Sajad Lone and NC’s Nasir Aslam Wani, both very well-known names in regional politics.

PDP’s candidate is Fayaz Ahmad Mir.

PC's Bashir Ahmad Dar won the Kupwara constituency in 2014. In 2008, NC's Mir Saifullah won the constituency for the third time in a row, defeating Independent candidate Ghulam Qadir Mir and Congress candidate Chowdhary Salam-u-din in 2002 and bagging the seat for the first time in 1996.

NC's Mushtaq Ahmed Lone won in 1987. 

As per ECI, there were 1,07,033 electors in the Kupwara constituency during the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections. Out of this, 55,634 were men,  51,397 were women and two voters belonged to the third gender.

A total of 79 postal ballot votes were cast in the constituency. The number of service voters in Kupwara in 2014 was 226; 153 were men and 73 were women. 

In 2008, the total number of voters in the Kupwara constituency was 88,942, out of which 46,452 were men and 42,490 were women. There were 42 postal votes in the constituency. As many as 231 service voters were there on the seat in 2008 (178 were men and 53 were women).

Voting will take place in the Kupwara constituency in Jammu and Kashmir on October 1, along with the other 39 constituencies of the Union Territory, including Uri, Baramulla, and Gulmarg.

In the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections, JKPC candidate Bashir Ahmad Dar won the seat with a margin of just 151 votes. He was polled 24,754 votes with a vote share of 34.47 per cent.

Voting for the final phase will be held on October 1, and the results will be announced on Ooctober 8.