As many as seven candidates in J&K, who made it to the new Legislative Assembly, won with a margin of less than 1,000 votes. One of the prominent names include Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone, who won the Handwara seat with a margin of 662 votes. The Tribune takes a look at the newly elected members from Kashmir and Jammu regions.
Javaid Riyaz: A former police officer, Javaid won the Pattan seat of North Kashmir on the NC ticket by defeating prominent Shia cleric and senior leader of People’s Conference Imran Reza Ansari with a margin of 603 votes. Javaid polled 29,893 votes.
Peerzada Feroze Ahamad: A senior leader of National Conference, Peerzada won the Devsar seat in South Kashmir with a margin of 840 votes by defeating Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party leader Sartaj Madni. Peerzada bagged a total of 18,230 votes.
Nizamuddin Bhat: The Congress leader, who joined the party before the elections, won the Bandipora seat in North Kashmir with a margin of 811 votes. He defeated former Apni Party leader Usman Majid, who contested as an Independent candidate. Bhat secured 20,391 votes.
Rafiq Ahmad Naik: A leader of the People’s Democratic Party, Rafiq won the Tral seat in Pulwama district with a margin of 460 votes. Naik is among the three candidates from the People’s Democratic Party who won the elections. Naik, who defeated Congress candidate Surinder Singh, got a total of 10,710 votes.
Sajad Lone: Chief of the People’s Conference, Sajad won the Handwara seat by a thin margin of 662 votes. Sajad bagged 29,812 votes and defeated National Conference leader Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan.
Payare Lal Sharma: He won the Inderwal seat in the Jammu region by a margin of 643 votes. He defeated another Independent candidate Ghulam Mohd Saroori. Sharma, who bagged a total of 14,195 votes, on Thursday extended support to the National Conference.
Shagun Parihar: Face of the BJP in Kishtwar, Jammu region, Shagun won the Kishtwar constituency by a margin of 521 votes. She faced a tough competition from National Conference candidate and former minister Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo. Parihar, whose father Ajit Parihar and brother Anil, then BJP state secretary, were killed by militants in 2018, bagged a total vote of 29,053.