Former J-K Congress chief joins early voters in J-K, says confident of hat-trick victory in Banihal

Banihal: Former president of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee Vikar Rasool Wani was among the early voters to cast their ballot at a polling station here in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district on Wednesday.

Wani, a former minister who won the Banihal constituency seat in the 2008 and 2014 elections, expressed confidence in securing the seat for a third consecutive term.

He faces competition from six other candidates, including National Conference's Sajjad Shaheen, PDP's Imtiyaz Shan, and BJP's Mohd Saleem Bhat.

"Who is at fault that assembly elections are taking place in J&K after a gap of 10 long years? BJP is responsible for this otherwise the elections should have taken place in 2019," the Congress leader told PTI after casting his vote at Tulbagh-Rallu polling station.

Wani said he could not visit all parts of the constituency due to paucity of time but expressed confidence that the people of the segment will vote in favour of the Congress given its developmental track record.

"I contested and won in 2008 and 2014. Today, I see overwhelming support in my favour than in the past. I am confident of victory in this election as well. Compared to previous elections, my confidence is even higher. We will win this election too. Mark my words," he told reporters at a polling station.

Banihal is one of the five seats where both the NC and the Congress alliance partners have fielded their candidates under what they called a 'friendly contest'.

"National Conference and PDP had done nothing for Banihal and all the developmental work in the region was done by Congress. The people will vote for that work as NC and PDP have zero contribution in developmental works in Banihal," he said, claiming that NC and BJP candidates are no threat to him.

"BJP has no base in Banihal and their presence is mostly in Jammu," he said.

Banihal, which is nestled in the Pirpanchal mountains and along the banks of Nalla Bischlari, linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, witnessed brisk polling with long queues since early morning.

After casting his vote, a local resident, Sajjad Ahmad, emphasised the importance of development and the formation of a popular government in Jammu and Kashmir.

"People want development in this beautiful valley with its many tourist spots. We want better connectivity for various mountainous areas and promotion of numerous untouched tourist destinations to provide alternative job opportunities for the youth," Ahmad said.

Wani emphasised that the Congress is poised to win these elections as people seek an end to central rule. "People have turned out in large numbers since morning to vote. We are contesting five seats in the Chenab Valley. We are confident of winning four seats. They (voters) want to end central rule," he said.

He also highlighted development issues and statehood concerns as key factors in this election. "Congress is fighting for these issues," he added.

Regarding the friendly contest, he pointed out that the NC has not won this seat since 1986, came fourth in 2008 and third in 2014. "NC has been critical of us since the start of the campaign. It is not a friendly contest as they have criticised and abused us continuously," the Congress leader said.

"It was initially a triangular contest, but NC seems to have slipped out of it. Now, it is a one-on-one contest with the PDP," Wani said.

Meanwhile, the NC candidate from Kishtwar and former minister Sajjad Ahmad Kitchloo said people are happy that assembly elections are taking place after a decade.

"The last elections were held when Jammu and Kashmir was a full fledged state and now the elections are taking place under the status of Union Territory. People are enthusiastic and voting to ensure a strong government is formed which can resolve all their problems and issues including unemployment," he said, lauding the arrangements made by the election authorities.