Srinagar- As the NC-Congress coalition crossed the majority threshold in the maiden assembly elections following the abrogation of Article 370, Many former ministers and legislators of the erstwhile state lost their seats, with many of them being defeated by first-time candidates.
A total of 873 people ran for 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, including 43 in Jammu and 47 in Kashmir. This was the first assembly election following the abrogation of Article 370, which granted the former state a unique constitutional position, and the second subsequent to 2014.
Nonetheless, the notable outcome was the defeat of as many former ministers, many of whom experienced loss at the hands of novices.
Former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig was among the 24 candidates in Baramulla constituency whose deposits were forfeited.
The seat was won by his nephew Javid Hussain Baig who polled 22,523 votes, while Muzaffar Baig, a former MP as well, stood at a distant third by securing just 5,872 votes.
Another former deputy chief minister Tara Chand, Congress candidate from Chhamb seat in Jammu region, lost to independent candidate Satish Sharma. Chand stood at the third place.
Among the former ministers and legislators who lost assembly elections including Abdul Gaffar Sofi, Usman Majeed, Vikar Rasool, Muzaffar Beigh, Lal Singh, Manohar Lal, Chowdhary Zulfikar, Altaf Bukhari, Harsh Dev Singh, Tara Chand, Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, Ghulam Nabi Lone, Abdul Majeed Paddar, Sartaj Madni, Abdul Majeed Wani, Aijaz Ahmad Khan, Ghulam Hassan Mir, Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan, Aesia Naqash, G M Saroori, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, Sajad Kitchloo, Nasir Aslam Wani, Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Imran Ansari, Mohammad Khalil Bandh, Abdul Gani Vakil, Abdul Rehman Bhat, Jugal Kishore, Taj Mohiuddin, Mehboob Beigh, Mushtaq Bukhari and Basharat Bukahri.
Almost fifteen of these ministers had registered a thumping victory during the 2014 elections while running for the PDP. Nonetheless, a large number of candidates in this election chose to run as independents or affiliate with other parties, including Peoples Conference and Apni Party.
Jammu and Kashmir will now have an elected government for the first time in five years following the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
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