Chenab valley all set to go into poll mode

Jammu, Aug 17: A day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule of Assembly elections for Jammu and Kashmir, all the three districts of Chenab valley have started to get into the election mode with probable candidates heading to get a mandate for contesting the elections.
For a couple of days the battle will be within the parties to get the mandate first and thereafter the actual battle on ground will start.
The eight Assembly constituencies of Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban districts, part of Chenab valley, will go for polls in the first phase of the Assembly elections and notification for the same will be issued on August 20. The last date for filing of nomination will be on August 27, scrutiny on August 28 and last date for withdrawal of candidates will be on august 30. The polling for the first phase will be held on September 18.
The Chenab valley has traditionally been a bastion of both National Conference and Congress party but it was breached by Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in 2014 Assembly elections. The saffron party was able to win four out of six seats of Chenab valley and after delimitation of Assembly constituencies the contest will be on eight seats.
Kishtwar district has got three seats, Kishtwar, Padder-Nagseni and Inderwal, Doda has also got three, Doda, Doda West and Bhaderwah and for Ramban there is no change and it has two seats which include Ramban and Banihal.
The ruling BJP doesn’t want to lose the hold which it got during 2014 and the parliamentary elections of 2014, 2019 and 2024 showed the party still has strong support among the masses. The party has three strong leaders in Chenab valley which include Sunil Sharma of Kishtwar, Shakti Parihar and Daleep Parihar of Doda and Bhaderwah, respectively, and all of them are eying their second term.
After Ghulam Nabi Azad formed his own party Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), Congress party has nurtured new leadership in the area and the likes of Nadeem Sharief Niaz, son of late Congressman Muhammad Sharief Niaz, and Sheikh Riaz Ahmed, General Secretary of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) are the two probable candidates for Bhaderwah and Doda seats. The outgoing PCC President Vikar Rasool Wani would like to hold on to his bastion Banihal but this would not be easy for him anymore.
NC on the other hand would like to regain its lost ground and they have a strong leadership with the likes of two former MoS Home Sajjad Kichloo and Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy ready to contest. Former PDP leader and former bureaucrat Mehboob Iqbal, Praye Lal and Dr. Chaman Lal are few other strong leaders from Chenab valley belt who will be probable candidates of NC.
Meanwhile, Azad’s DPAP would like to make a debut from Chenab valley during these elections while Ghulam Muhammad Saroori and Abdul Majeed Wani are his two strong leaders. If Azad himself decides to contest then the contest will be more interesting.