Parties yet to announce candidates for J-K polls

Even as the dates for the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir have been announced, with the first phase of the five-phase exercise being less than a month away, most parties are yet to announce their candidates for various constituencies.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the elections on October 25 and 15 constituencies go to polls in the first phase on November 25. The notification for the first phase was issued today.
The ruling National Conference (NC) is yet to decide on the mandates for three constituencies out of 15.
Out of these fifteen constituencies, the NC has not given mandates in three assembly seats - Ganderbal, currently represented in the state legislature by NC working president and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Bandipora and Inderwal.

National Conference has released three lists of mandates so far and there are still many constituencies including three - Hazratbal, Sonwar and Zadibal - in Srinagar district, where candidates have not been finalised yet.
The party has not yet decided on the seat for Omar and though the leadership was divided over Ganderbal and Sonwar, the NC working president may ultimately fight the battle from the family's traditional bastion Ganderbal in central Kashmir.

Omar had lost the elections from the seat in 2002 when he made his electoral debut in the state politics, but won comfortably in 2008.
The party said the process of finalising the mandates for the remaining constituencies was delayed because of the devastating floods that hit the state last month.

The party even expressed its reservations to holding the elections on time and was in favour of delaying the process citing rehabilitation of the flood-affected people as a reason.
It said the focus of the government would shift from rehabilitation to the elections.