In a historic electoral moment for Jammu and Kashmir, two former chief ministers faced significant defeats in the Lok Sabha elections.
Engineer Rashid emerges as a giant killer in Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Jailed leader Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, achieved a remarkable victory by defeating former chief minister and National Conference candidate Omar Abdullah with a substantial margin of 204,142 votes.
Meanwhile, veteran Gujjar leader Mian Altaf secured a resounding win over Peoples' Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti, with a victory margin of 281,794 votes—the highest in Jammu and Kashmir. On the Jammu-Reasi Lok Sabha seat, BJP's Jugal Kishore Sharma scripted history by winning for the third consecutive time. He defeated Congress candidate Raman Bhalla by a margin of 135,498 votes.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh secured three successive terms on the Udhampur-Doda seat. His victory margin against Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh was 124,373 votes, with Dr. Singh receiving 571,076 votes.
Two former CMs face defeat
For the first time, two former Chief Ministers—Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti—were defeated in the Lok Sabha elections. Abdullah lost to former MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid by nearly two lakh votes in the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat. Mufti trailed behind Gujjar leader and National Conference candidate Mian Altaf Ahmad in the Anatnag-Rajouri seat.
The recent defeats have raised questions about the participation of Abdullah and Mufti in the upcoming assembly elections, expected before September 30. Both leaders have refrained from contesting assembly polls while Jammu and Kashmir remains a Union Territory.
Abdullah, aged 54, reiterated his decision not to run in the current situation. Mufti, the PDP president, has taken a firm stance, vowing not to participate until Article 370 is restored. Her emotional connection to the issue stems from having taken an oath as a member of the assembly under both the J&K Constitution and the Constitution of India, with dual flags.
Abdullah's defeat marks the first time in 22 years, while Mufti has faced back-to-back losses, including the Lok Sabha polls of 2019 and 1999. Additionally, PDP youth president Waheed Para, currently facing terror charges, lost to influential Shia leader Aga Roohullah in the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat.
Jugal Kishore Sharma's unbroken streak
BJP leader Jugal Kishore Sharma, the sitting Lok Sabha member from Jammu-Poonch, secured victory for the third consecutive term. Having never lost any election, Sharma first contested assembly elections in 2002 and won from the Nagrota assembly constituency. He continued his winning streak in the 2008 assembly election and emerged victorious in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
The Jammu-Reasi parliamentary constituency, previously known as the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat, had 2,047,302 electors in 2019, with 1,478,795 votes polled. Jugal Kishore, representing the Bharatiya Janata Party, secured a total of 858,066 votes, while Indian National Congress candidate Raman Bhalla stood second with 555,191 votes.
Details of five Lok Sabha seats of J&K
- Jammu-Reasi seat: Jugal Kishore secured 687588 and won by 135498 votes. His nearly rival Raman Bhalla of Congress got 520090 votes.
- Udhampur-Doda seat: BJP candidate and Union Minister secured 571076 and won the seat by 124373 votes. Choudhary Lal Singh of Congress got 4,46.703 votes.
- Anantnag-Rajouri seat: National Conference candidate Main Altaf secured 521836 votes and won the seat by a margin of 281794 highest in J&K.
- Srinagar Lok Sabha seat: Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi of the National Conference won the election by 188416 votes. He secured 356866 votes. His nearly rival Wahid Parra of PDP secured 168450 votes.
- Baramulla Lok Sabha seat: Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid won this seat by a margin of 204142. He secured 4724812 votes. His nearly rival and former chief minister Omar Abdullah secured 268339 votes.
