Battle Royale in Ganderbal

Ganderbal, Sep 22: Ganderbal assembly constituency is all set to witness a multi-cornered contest on September 25.

The high-profile constituency which has remained a stronghold of National Conference (NC) will witness an interesting and tough multi-cornered contest between NC Vice President and former chief minister Omar Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Bashir Ahmed Mir, and independents including former MLA Ganderbal Sheikh Ishfaq Jabbar.

Ganderbal assembly constituency has been represented by political stalwarts including NC founder, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, three-time chief minister Farooq Abdullah, and the third generation of Abdullah family, Omar Abdullah.

Fifteen candidates of different political parties and independents are in the fray for this high profile constituency.

Though the NC’s support base remains largely intact, the entry of PDP candidate Bashir Ahmad Mir into the electoral fray has made the contest for Ganderbal interesting.

Mir has fought two assembly elections unsuccessfully from the neighbouring Kangan seat.

However, with that assembly segment being reserved for ST candidates, the PDP fielded him from Ganderbal. His entry in the fray has, to an extent, galvanised the PDP cadre. What makes the electoral battle all the more exciting is the entry of jailed cleric Sarjan Wagay, popularly known as Sarjan Barkati, and Sheikh Ashiq, the candidate of Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid's Awami Ittehad Party, in the fray. The constituency has around 1.30 lakh electors.