Eight women candidates in fray for fourth phase

Omar to face female power at Sonawar

PS BALI

Jammu, Dec 12: Out of total 182 candidates for the 18 constituency seats, as many as eight women candidates have figured to contest for the fourth phase of ongoing Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, scheduled for December 14.

As per official data seven female candidates from three districts of Kashmir division are in fray, whereas only one female candidate is contesting elections from lone district of Jammu division in the penultimate phase.

The contest for Sonawar assembly seat would be interesting to see, wherein National Conference (NC) working president and Chief ministerial candidate, Omar Abdullah would be facing female candidates of two arch-rival parties-BJP and Indian National Congress (INC).

While INC has fielded septuagenarian Khem Lata Wakhloo to fight NC working president, BJP has wielded faith in the new entrant and an erstwhile president of the Socialist Democratic Party (SDP) Dr Darakshan Andrabi.

The experienced Khem Lata Wakhloo, who was accorded the status of a Cabinet Minister, could give a tough fight to Omar Abdullah, whereas Dr Andrabi riding on Modi Juggernauts, was on a hectic door-to-door campaign in Sonwar to defeat the Chief Minister, who has picked Sonwar (his father, Farooq Abdullah was an MLA from here in 2008) along with Beerwah to fight this elections  after abandoning the family bastion of Ganderbal.

The other high profile woman candidate from Kashmir includes sitting MLA and NC candidate for Habbakadal, Shamima Firdous, who had won the 2008 assembly elections with a good margin.

Shamima, is the only women candidate out of a total of 11 candidates in fray. The main contest indeed is expected to be between Shamima Firdous, BJP’s Moti Lal Kaul and Sanjay Saraf of Lok Jan Shakti Party.

The Hazratbal constituency, which has remained the hotspot of National Conference, one female contestant Asiea Naqash, sister-in-law of Member Parliament, Tariq Ahmad Karra, is contesting as a PDP candidate out of a total 12 candidates in fray.

Being in relation to MP could bring some hope to Naqash to emerge winner. However, Mohammad Syed Akhoon of NC, who had remained MLA of the same constituency in the 1996, would definitely give some fight to PDP candidate.

Similarly, BJP candidate Hina Shafi Bhat is among the   14 candidates contesting from assembly segment of Amirakadal.

Apart from the fact that she is a new face in politics, Bhat has recently been in media limelight for making a controversial statement on Article 370 that goes against the traditional stand of the party on this sensitive issue.

She could be a good contestant in terms of making news, but here all the eyes will be on the contest between NC provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani and PDP candidate Mohammad Altaf Bukhari. Pertinently, her father, Muhammad Shafi Bhat was a senior leader of National Conference.

From Zadibal, young candidate of BJP, Neelam Basher Gash is contesting for the first time against 13 candidates. She is believed to give tough fight to Abid Hussain Ansari of PDP, who is also contesting for the first time.

Only independent female candidate in the fourth phase of assembly elections, Mehbooba Shadab is contesting from Batmaloo Assembly constituency along with other 16 candidates.

 The 54 year old Shadab has already contested two parliamentary elections in the past both as a National Conference candidate as well as an Independent candidate, but lost on both occasions.

Intending to make fresh start by contesting again as an Independent candidate, Shadab has not many experienced candidates against her. She along with PDP candidate, Noor Mohammad Sheikh, might take advantage of anti-incumbency wave.

In Jammu division, only one woman candidate, Satwant Kour Dogra is in fray for fourth phase. Dogra is contesting from Samba assembly constituency on NC mandate.  She had quit BJP after losing 2008 elections from Samba on the party ticket.