Taking a lead among other constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc in Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress finalized its candidate for two Lok Sabha seats of the Union Territory.
The Congress has cleared the name of the former minister and working president of the J&K unit of the party, Raman Bhalla for the Jammu-Reasi Lok Sabha constituency.
For the prestigious Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Parliamentary segment, Congress has cleared the name of Choudhary Lal Singh who rejoined the party on Wednesday.
In the Jammu-Reasi Lok Sabha seat, the party has repeated its candidate but in the Udhampur-Doda constituency party, this time reposed faith in veteran politician Choudhary Lal Singh.
Sources said that party leadership is waiting for the other constituents of the INDIA bloc especially the National Conference to officially announce its candidates for three seats of Kashmir Valley.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Raman Bhalla was runner-up in the Jammu-Reasi seat, which was earlier called the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency. Raman Bhalla had secured 5,55,191 votes while BJP candidate Jugal Kishore Sharma got 8,58,066 votes.
This time Jugal Kishore Sharma is trying to make a hat trick while Raman Bhalla will try to snatch this seat from BJP.
Pollings for the Jammu-Reasi Lok Sabha seat will held in the second phase of elections.
Udhampur seat to witness interesting contest
The decision of the Congress to field Choudhary Lal Singh is going to make the contest on Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Lok Sabha seat interesting.
Union Minister and BJP candidate Dr. Jitendra Singh is in the fray to make a hat trick on this prestigious seat.
In the 2019, elections Dr. Jitendra Singh has won this seat with a huge margin of over 3 lakh votes.
Dr. Jitendra Singh got 7, 24,311 votes which was 61.38 percent of the total polled votes. Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh, who is the son of veteran politician Dr. Karan Singh, got 3,67,059 votes.
Five candidates have so far filed their nomination papers from the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency for the first phase of Parliamentary elections scheduled to be held in Jammu and Kashmir on April 19.
Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh has filed his papers as a BJP candidate. Another BJP leader Prem Nath Dogra has filed his nomination as a covering candidate.
Amit Kumar and Tilak Raj, both from the Bahujan Samaj Party, and Swarn Veer Singh Jaral as Independent candidate, filed their nomination papers in the office of Returning Officer.
The last day for filing nomination papers is March 27, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 03:00 PM.
Lal Singh is delaying filing nomination to avoid an inauspicious period.
Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh is opting to postpone the filing of his nomination papers until March 27, steering clear of the ominous Holasthak period.
Holasthak, a period deemed inauspicious in many parts of India, commenced on March 17th and will conclude on March 24th.
Sources indicated that Choudhary Lal Singh is planning to formally submit his nomination papers on March 27, the final day for filing nominations in the Udhampur-Doda-Kathua Lok Sabha constituency.
Holashtak, derived from "Hol" meaning Holi, the festival of colors, and "Ashtak" meaning eight, denotes the eight-day period leading up to Holi. Commencing on the Ashtami tithi (eighth day) of the Shukla Paksha in the Phalguna month, Holashtak extends until Purnima or at least until Holika Dahan.
Primarily observed in North Indian regions like Punjab, Bihar, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, Holashtak is considered inauspicious, urging individuals to abstain from negative actions during this time. It is believed that negative energies are heightened during Holashtak, prompting caution and adherence to protective measures. Additionally, significant planetary transitions are noted during this period.
NC to announce LS candidates after Eid
Two days ago, the National Conference Vice President and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that candidates for the coming Lok Sabha polls will be announced after Eid-ul-Fitr.
Omar said that the party would reveal the names of its candidates at an appropriate time.
"We will announce our candidates at the right time. Voting is to be held in the third, fourth, and fifth phases in our constituencies. There is still plenty of time. Let us celebrate Eid first," he said.
