Congress names Tariq Hameed Karra as Jammu Kashmir chief hours after EC announced assembly poll dates

The Congress party has appointed Tariq Hameed Karra as the President of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, hours after the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for assembly elections in the Union Territory.

Along with him, Tara Chand and Raman Bhalla have also been appointed as the working presidents of the Jammu and Kashmir Congress Committee.

Karra, who was working as the permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee has replaced Vikar Rasool Wani, the outgoing Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee President. Wani has been appointed as the Special Invitee of the Congress Working Committee, with immediate effect.

"Congress President has appointed the President and Working Presidents of the Jammu & Kashmir PCC as follows, with immediate effect. PCC President - Tariq Hameed Karra, Working Presidents - Tara Chand and Raman Bhalla. Congress President has also appointed Vikar Rasool Wani as Special Invitee, Congress Working Committee, with immediate effect. Tariq Hameed Karra has been relieved from his current position as a Permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee. The party appreciates the contributions of the outgoing PCC President, Vikar Rasool Wani," reads a Congress party statement.

Karra, who was finance minister of the erstwhile state during PDP-Congress coalition government, had won the Lok Sabha election from Srinagar by a margin of over 40,000 votes giving the first ever electoral defeat to National Conference’s Dr Farooq Abdullah in four decades.

A former PDP leader, Karra had been against BJP-PDP alliance. He resigned from the Lok Sabha and PDP in 2016. Karra joined Congress in February 2017.

The Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases from September 18 and the results will be announced on October 4.

The elections of first phase will be held on September 18, second phase will be held on September 25 and third phase will be held on October 1. The counting of the votes will be held on October 4

There are a total of 90 assembly constituencies, of which 74 are General, nine are ST and seven are SC.

In Jammu and Kashmir, there are 87.09 lakh total electors. Of which 44.46 lakh are male, 42.62 female, 169 are Transgender, 82,590 PwDs, 73943 very senior citizens, 2660 centenarians, 76092 service electors, and 3.71 lakh are first-time voters.

Jammu and Kashmir will witness elections after a gap of ten years as the last assembly election was held in 2014. The PDP-BJP coalition government fell in June 2018 when the latter withdrew support to the then-Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti.

(With ANI inputs)