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Tariq Bhat
Tariq Bhat

KASHMIR

Srinagar bypoll: Farooq Abdullah wins by margin of over 10,000 votes

PTI11_27_2015_000205A [File photo] Farooq Abdullah | PTI

Meanwhile, 5 persons were injured in a clash between protesters and security forces in Pulwama

Veteran JK politician and president of the National Conference (NC), Farooq Abdullah, won the polls for Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency held on April 9.

He defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Nazir Ahmed Khan, by over 10,557 votes. Farooq polled 47,926 votes, while Nazir got 37,369 votes.

Ahead of the polls for Srinagar and Anantnag Parliamentary constituencies, the NC and Congress formed an alliance against the PDP.

Elections for Anantnag were postponed after Mufti Tassaduq Hussain, the PDP candidate for Anantnag and brother of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, appealed to the Election Commission of India. Eight civilians were killed in clashes with security forces on April 9.

On May 25, elections will be held in Anantnag, considered a stronghold of the PDP.

Farooq had lost the constituency to Tariq Hamid Kara in 2015 Parliament polls.

Karan resigned from the PDP and Parliament in protest against the civilian killings in the separatist uprising.

An influential politician from Srinagar, he is likely to play an important role in shaping the future of Congress, especially in Srinagar.

The victory for Abdullah, who missed the 2015 assembly polls due to a kidney transplant in London, will boost the morale of the NC cadres.

Farooq's victory is a setback to the PDP whose political stock dwindled after allying with the RSS-backed BJP.

The 2016 uprising, triggered by Hizbul commander Burhan Wani's killings on July 8 in Anantnag, damaged the credibility of the PDP as a party with a difference.

Political observers are unanimous that PDP ensured the postponement of the election in Anantnag due to the looming threat of loss.

A defeat in his first political outing would badly damage the prospects of Mufti Tassaduq, who is being groomed by Mehbooba to lead the party while she calls the shots from behind. 

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