The Kupwara Assembly segment in North Kashmir is gearing up for a fierce electoral contest as two prominent politicians representing decades-old heritage face off in the upcoming elections. While the People’s Conference (PC) retained its chairman, Sajad Ghani Lone, the National Assembly appointed Nasir Aslam Wani, a close aide of Omar Abdullah, for the crucial seat.
Sajad Ghani Lone, son of Jana Sammelan founder late Abdul Ghani Lone, has thrown his hat into the Kupwara contest, shaking up the electoral dynamics. His candidature has thrown the contest between former minister Ghulam and his grandson Nasir Aslam Wani into a straight fight.
Kupwara Assembly Election 2024
The Kupwara Assembly constituency is one of the 90 constituencies in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. It is constituency number 3 of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. The constituency is a general seat not reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The Jammu and Kashmir People Conference (JKPC), the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) and the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP) are the main parties in the constituency. The JKPC's Bashir Ahmad Dar won the Kupwara constituency in 2014. In 2008, the JKNC's Mir Saifullah won the constituency for the third time in a row. In the 2002 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Saifullah defeated Independent candidate Ghulam Qadir Mir and Congress candidate Chowdhary Salam-u-din. In 1996, Saifullah won the seat for the first time, while JKNC's Mushtaq Ahmed Lone won the constituency in 1987.
Kupwara Assembly constituency demographic profile
According to the Election Commission, there were 1,07,033 electors in the Kupwara constituency during the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections. Out of this, 55,634 were males and 51,397 were females. Two voters belonged to the third gender. 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 males and 42,490 were females. 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).
Kupwara Legislative Assembly Constituency Elections 2024: Poll date
The Kupwara constituency in Jammu and Kashmir will go to the polls in the third phase on October 1, along with the other 39 constituencies of the Union Territory, including Uri, Baramulla, and Gulmarg.
Kupwara Legislative Assembly Constituency Elections 2024: Result Date
The result for Kupwara will be declared on October 8 (Tuesday), along with the other 89 constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier, it was scheduled to be announced on October 4, however, the ECI revised the date for the polls in Haryana along with the date for the declaration of results.
Kupwara Jammu and Kashmir Constituency Assembly Election 2024 Candidates
Jammu and Kashmir People Conference's (JKPC) Sajad Gani Lone, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference's (JKNC) Nasir Aslam Wani and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party's (JKPDP) Mir Mohammad Fayaz are the main candidates in the Kupwara seat. The Congress is in an alliance with the JKNC. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not contesting from the constituency.
Kupwara Constituency 2014 and 2008 Winners (Candidates and Parties)
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%. He defeated JKPDP candidate Mir Mohammad Fayaz, who got 24,603 votes (34.26%). Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) candidate Mir Saifullah stood third with 17,390 votes (24.21%), and BJP candidate Ab Rehman Lone was in the fourth position with just 790 votes (1.10%). The total number of votes polled was 71,823 (67.10%).
In the 2008 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections, JKNC candidate Mir Saifullah won the seat. He was polled 16,696 votes with a vote share of 30.07%. JKPDP candidate Fayaz Ahmad Mir got 11,514 votes (20.74%) and was the runner-up. Saifullah defeated Mir by a margin of 5,182 votes. The total number of votes polled in this constituency was 55,531 (62.44%). Independent candidate Shabnam Gani Lone came in third with 11,050 votes (19.90%), and another Independent candidate Abdul Majeed Khan was in the fourth position with 2,673 votes (4.81%).
Kupwara Assembly constituency past winners
- 1977: Assad Ullah Shah (JKNC)
- 1983: Peer Abdul Gani (JKNC)
- 1987: Mushtaq Ahmed Lone (JKNC)
- 1996: MirSaifullah (JKNC)
- 2002: Mir Saifullah (JKNC)
- 2008: Mir Saifullah (JKNC)
- 2014: Bashir Ahmad Dar (JKPC)
Kupwara constituency voter turnout in 2014 and 2008
The total number of votes polled during the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections was 71,823 or 67.10% in the Kupwara Legislative Assembly Constituency. In 2008, the total number of votes polled in this Assembly seat was 55,531, or 62.44%.
Also read | Basohli Assembly Elections 2024: Will BJP be able to register its third consecutive victory from seat?
