J-K Assembly polls: Omar Abdullah, Tariq Karra, Ravinder Raina – 6 high-profile candidates in fray in phase 2 today

The fate of 239 candidates will be sealed today as voting gets underway in 26 seats in the second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election today, September 25.

The 26 assembly constituencies voting today are spread over six districts – three in the Kashmir Valley and as many in the Jammu division.

"To facilitate smooth and hassle-free electoral participation, the Election Commission of India has established 3,502 polling stations in these segments. There are 1,056 urban polling stations and 2,446 rural polling stations," an official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Voting began at 7 am and will continue until 6 pm. The first phase of elections held on September 18 saw 61 per cent voter turnout.

Jammu and Kashmir is holding its first assembly elections in a decade to elect a government after over six years of Central rule. This is also first assembly election being held after abrogation of Article 370 in the erstwhile state in August 2019.

The final phase of polling will be held on October 1. The votes will be counted on October 8.

Key names in the fray for today's phase include National Conference Vice President and former chief minister Omar Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President Tariq Hamid Karra, BJP's Jammu and Kashmir chief Ravinder Raina and Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari.

Omar Abdullah

National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah is contesting from the Ganderbal and Budgam seats.

Ganderbal is known as NC stronghold, having elected three generations of the Abdullah family. NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah won the seat in 1977, his son Farooq Abdullah in 1983, 1987, and 1996 and Omar in 2008. Omar is up against Bashir Ahmed Mir, the PDP candidate from Ganderbal seat. Jailed Kashmiri cleric Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, popularly known as Sarjan Barkati, is also a candidate from here.

Omar lost the Lok Sabha polls from Baramulla seat in 2024 general elections to Engineer Rashid who was in jail on UAPA charges at that time. Rashid is out on bail for assembly polls.

In Budgam, Abdullah is up against seven other candidates including PDP's Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi and Awami National Conference's Aga Syed Ahmad Moosvi.

Tariq Hamid Karra

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Tariq Hameed Karra is NC-Congress alliance candidate from Central Shalteng seat in Srinagar. A former Lok Sabha Member of Parliament, Karra quit Peoples Democrtic Party (PDP) in 2016 over the party's alliance with the BJP, which ended in 2018. He joined the Congress in 2017.

Karra faces PDP's Abdul Qayum Bhat, Awami National Conference's Riyaz Ahmad Mir and Apni Party's Zaffer Habib Dar in the contest from Central Shalteng seat.

Ravinder Raina

Bharatiya Janata Party's unit president in Jammu and Kashmir, Ravinder Raina is seeking is seeking re-election from Nowshera seat in Rajouri district of Jammu. Raina had won the seat in 2014 too.

Raina is up against former party colleague Surinder Choudhary, now an NC leader and an NC-Congress alliance candidate.

Altaf Bukhari

Bukhari is president of Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party and is the wealthiest candidate in all three phases of Jammu and Kashmir elections with assets exceeding ₹165 crore. A former minister and ex-PDP leader, Bukhari is contesting from the Channapora seat in Srinagar.

Bukhari faces PDP's Mohammed Iqbal Trumboo, National Conference's Mushtaq Guroo, and BJP's Hilal Ahmad Wani from the seat.

Sarjan Ahmad Wagay

The second phase will be watched keenly as jailed separatist leader Sarjan Ahmad Wagay alias Sarjan Barkati is hoping to repeat Engineer Rashid's Lok Sabha poll feat against the National Conference leader Omar Abdullah from Ganderbal seat.

Barkati, who is also contesting from the Beerwah seat, was the most prominent face during the protest rallies in South Kashmir districts of Shopian and Kulgam after the killing of Burhan Wani in 2016.

Killed in an encounter on July 8, 2016, Wani was the top district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen and became a poster boy of the militancy in Kashmir. His killing led to widespread protests in the valley, causing unrest in 2016, leading to the death of 90 people.

Barkati, was arrested on October, 2016 and was released in October 2020. He was arrested again in August 2023, in connection with a terror-funding case. Later, his wife was arrested too.

Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari

75-year-old Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari is contesting from Jammu’s Surankote seat on a BJP ticket. He joined the saffron party in 2022 after leaving the National Conference (NC) over ST status for the Pahari community.

Bukhari had been with the NC for nearly 40 years. While in NC, the two-time former legislator from Surankote in Poonch district, was a close confidant of party president Farooq Abdullah.

Bukhari faces Mohammad Shahnawaz Choudhary of Congress and Javaid Iqbal of PDP in Surankote seat.

(With PTI Inputs)