Srinagar, Sep 16 (KNO): The Pampore Assembly Constituency in South Kashmir's Pulwama district is set to witness a direct contest between the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party candidates.
As per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the seat is set to witness a close contest between NC's Justice Hasnain Masoodi and PDP's Zahoor Ahmad Mir.
The other contesting candidates include Mohammad Altaf Mir of Apni Constituency, Mashooq Ahmad Mir of Jammu and Kashmir Nationalist People's Front, Mohammad Asif Ganaie and Mohammad Maqbool Shah—both independents, Arshid Ahmad of Jammu & Kashmir Awami National Conference, Parvaiz Hajam of Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party (Bhim), Syed Showkat Gayoor Andrabi of Bharatiya Janata Party, Bilal Ahmad Bhat an independent, Ab Qayoom Mir of Awami Ittehad Party, Aadil Rashid Bhat independent, Shakeel Ahmad Dar independent and Mohammad Akbar Lone an independent.
Political analysts believe that the main contest on the seat is between NC and PDP, who are the former parliamentarian and ex-minister and ex-MLA respectively.
Both the candidates are having a good vote share on the ground but performance of both Hasnain Masoodi and Zahoor Mir wasn't up to the mark and that can divide the votes towards the independent candidate Mohammad Maqbool Shah, who is a resident of Pampore town, they said.
They said that other than Maqbool Shah, the other candidates who are expected to get a good share of votes include AIP's Ab Qayoom Mir and Apni party's Altaf Mir.
In 2014, Pampore legislative assembly constituency had a total 78176 electors. Total number of valid votes was 36592. Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party candidate Zahoor Ahmad Mir won and became MLA from this seat. He secured a total 16239 votes while Jammu & Kashmir National Conference candidate Yawar Ali Abass Masoodi stood second with a total of 12741 votes. He lost by 3498 votes.
In 2008, Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party candidate Zahoor Ahmad won the seat by securing 11,117 votes while Indian National Congress candidate Mohd Anwar Bhat stood second and lost by a margin of 5148 votes.
In 2002, Peoples Democratic Party candidate Ab Aziz Mir won and secured 3811 votes while Indian National Congress candidate Mohd Anwar Bhat stood second and lost by 705 votes.
In 1996, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference candidate Mushtaq Ahmad won the seat by securing 18112 votes while Indian National Congress candidate Mohd Anwar stood second and lost by a margin of 11950 votes.
In 1987, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference candidate Ghulam Mohi Ud Din won by securing 22186 votes while independent candidate Ali Mohd Lone lost by a margin of 6803 votes.
In 1983, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference candidate Mohd Sultan won ths eat by securing secured 21672 votes while Indian National Congress candidate Peerzada Gh Jeelani stood second and lost by a margin of 16536 votes.
In 1977, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference candidate Malik Mohi Ud Din won this seat as he secured 22877 votes. Janata Party candidate Peer Ghulam Hassan Masoodi however, stood second and lost by a margin of 20468 votes.
In 1972, Indian National Congress candidate Gulam Hassan Mansooda won the seat. He secured 9269 votes while independent candidate Pirzada Ghulam Jeelani stood second and lost by a margin of 3401 votes.
As the constituency is set to go to the polls in the first phase of elections, the segment has a total of 1,00,383 registered voters including 49,697 males, 50,680 females, and 6 transgender.
To accommodate these voters, 120 polling stations have been allocated within this constituency, underscoring its importance in the district's electoral framework—(KNO)