Congress releases list of 69 candidates : JAMMU, Nov 07: The - TopicsExpress

Congress releases list of 69 candidates : JAMMU, Nov 07: The Congress high command released list of 69 candidates for four remaining phases of elections in J&K which included eight Ministers, sitting MLAs and MLCs, former legislators and son of PCC (I) chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz. Several former Ministers have also found space in the new list. The party has not named candidates so far for three seats including Basohli in Kathua district, Jammu West and Gulmarg in Baramulla district. The party has put up few new faces including Chowdhary Akram, son of former Congress leader and MLA from Surankote Choudhary Aslam, who had recently passed away, Vikram Malhotra from Jammu East and party spokesman Ravinder Sharma, MLC from Nowshera. Salman Anees Soz, the national face of Congress and son of Prof Soz, who also figured in party’s panel for national Television channels, has been fielded from Baramulla Assembly seat . However, the party has not lagged behind in nominating kith and kin of senior leaders in some of the constituencies including Salman Soz, Vikram Malhotra, who happens to be son of Legislative Council Chairman Amrit Malhotra, Mumtaz Ahmad Khan, brother of Congress two times MLA and Minister Aijaz Khan, who has been nominated from Gulabgarh and Chowdhary Akram. Aijaz Khan and Mumtaz Khan, the two real brothers, would be Congress candidates in neighbouring Assembly segments of Gool-Arnas and Gulabgarh in Reasi district. In Gulmarg, the party has not named any candidate as sitting MLA and Agriculture Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir of DPN Party was associate members of the Congress. In a surprise decision, the Congress has also given mandate to former party veteran and ex-Dy. Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma’s son, Rajnish Sharma (Mian) from Bani Assembly seat though Mangat had recently joined the PDP. Mangat’s elder son, Subash Sharma is PDP candidate from Kathua Assembly seat. The Congress has repeated its sitting Ministers including Dy. Chief Minister Tara Chand (Chhamb), Raman Bhalla (Gandhi Nagar), Sham Lal Sharma (Akhnoor), Manohar Lal Sharma (Billawar), Aijaz Ahmad Khan (Gool Arnas), Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed (Kokernag), GA Mir (Doru) and Taj Mohi-ud-Din (Uri). Sitting MLAs and MLCs, who have been given party tickets by the Congress apart from eight Ministers are Shabir Ahmad Khan (Rajouri), Krishan Lal Bhagat (Chenani), Jugal Kishore Sharma (Reasi- MLC) and Ravinder Sharma (Nowshera-MLC). Former Ministers and ex-legislators, whose names figured in the list of 69 candidates of the Congress, were Mula Ram (Raipur Domana), RS Chib (Suchetgarh), Suman Bhagat (RS Pura-Reserve), Gulchain Singh Charak (Bishnah), Abdul Gani Vakil (Rafiabad), Girdhari Lal Chalotra (Hiranagar-Reserve), Bashir Naz (Poonch Haveli), Ashok Sharma (Kalakote), Shiv Dev Singh (Nagrota), Manjeet Singh (Vijaypur), Jatinder Singh alias Babu Singh (Kathua), Khem Lata Wakhloo (Sonawar), Raman Mattoo (Habbakadal), Shoaib Nabi Lone (Sangrama) and Haji Abdul Rasheed Dar (Sopore). Other candidates named by the Congress included Murtaza Khan, who had defected to party from PDP earlier (Mendhar), Mohammad Iqbal Malik (Darhal), Balwan Singh (Marh), Subash Bhagat (Samba-Reserve), Vinod Khajuria (Ramnagar) and Ashok Gupta (Udhampur). The candidates from Kashmir are Irfan Ahmad Bhat Kullar (Pahalgam), Manzoor Ahmad Ganai (Bijbehara), Gulzar Ahmad Wani (Shangus), Mohammad Amin Bhat (Devsar), Hillal Ahmad Shah (Anantnag), Anyatullah (Homeshalibugh), Peer Nizamuddin (Kulgam), Manzoor Ahmad Zargar (Noorabad), Mushtaq Ahmad Khandey (Shopian), Maroof Ahmad Wani (Wachi), Fayaz Ahmad Dar (Rajpora), Bashir Ahmad Magray (Pulwama), Mohammad Anwar Bhat (Pampore), Ghulam Mohammad Mir (Tral), Zahid Hussain Jan (Charar-i-Sharief), Abdul Ghani Naseem (Khansahib), Nazir Ahmad Khan (Beerwah), Ghulam Hassan Geelani (Badgam), Master Mohammad Maqbool (Chadoora), Abdul Hameed Rather (Batmaloo), Amir Rasool (Amirakadal), Mohammad Yaqoob Vakil (Khanyar), Imtiyaz Ahmad Khan (Idgah), Shameema Raina (Zadibal), Sayeed Ahmed (Hazratbal), Shaikh Riaz Ahmed (Pattan), Bashir Ahmad Wani (Langate), Mohammad Yasin Bhat (Handwara), Haji Farooq Ahmad Mir (Lolab), Ghulam Rasool Malik (Kupwara) and Asghar Khan (Karnah).