Ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir polls, members of the transgender community held a rally here on Saturday, demanding reservation for them in the legislative assembly. The rally, which started from Vikram Chowk and culminated at Hari Singh Park in the heart of the city, saw participants carrying placards and raising slogans in support of their demand. "We have 90 seats in the assembly but not one is reserved for us. We want at least one seat each to be reserved in the two divisions of Jammu and Kashmir for us so that our issues can be resolved," Raveena Mahant, who was leading the rally, told reporters. She said the rally was organised to voice the transgender community's demand for reservation and representation in the electoral process which has long been denied by the political parties in the region. "Without such reservation, the community remains under-represented and is unable to influence decisions which directly impact the lives of transgender persons," she added. Mahant sai
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will address two election rallies in Jammu and Kashmir on September 4 to campaign for the candidates of the NC-Congress alliance, a senior Congress leader said on Saturday. AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir told PTI Videos here that it was the desire of the candidates of the alliance and the people of J&K in general to have Gandhi campaign in the Union territory. "Rahulji will visit J&K on September 4 and will address election campaign rallies in Kashmir as well as Jammu for the alliance candidates," he added. Mir, who is contesting the assembly elections from Dooru in the south Kashmir district here, said Gandhi will address an election rally at the Dooru stadium. He said Gandhi would address another rally likely in the Sangaldan area of Jammu. "We are happy that he (Gandhi) accepted our invitation. This programme is for the first phase only. He might visit J&K again for the other phases," Mir said. The AICC general
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday night appointed four officers from the J&K Police Services (JKPS) as new Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) for Srinagar, Baramulla, and Kupwara districts, and as Superintendent of Police (SP) of Handwara, in accordance with approval from the Election Commission of India. As per an order issued by the Principal Secretary Home, Chandrakar Bharti, seven police officials, including two IPS officers, have been transferred and given new assignments across three districts and one police district. The Election Commission on Wednesday directed the transfer of senior police officials from Srinagar, Baramulla, Kupwara districts, and Handwara SP, instructing the administration to submit a panel of IPS officers for their replacement. JKPS officer Imtiyaz Hussain Mir has been appointed as SSP Srinagar, Mohammad Zaid as SSP Baramulla, Ghulam Jeelani Wani as SSP Kupwara, and Ifroz Ahmad as SP Handwara, the order stated. IPS officers Gurinderpal ...
In yet another rebellion within the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir over ticket distribution for the assembly elections, senior party leader Chander Mohan Sharma Friday announced his resignation from the party and threatened to contest as an Independent. The BJP is facing resentment over its ticket distribution in the Union territory, with party leaders and workers protesting in several districts of the Jammu region. This has prompted the party to launch a damage control exercise, deploying several top leaders, including Union ministers, to defuse the situation. "There is immense resentment and anger among leaders and workers of the party over the unfair distribution of mandates. They are holding protests to express their discontent. Saddened by this, I, one of the senior-most leaders of the BJP, along with others, have resigned from the party," Sharma, the convenor of the 'Tawi Andolan', told reporters here. Advocate Sharma, who joined the BJP in the early 1970s, criticised the party ...
J&K Assembly polls: In phase 1 on September 18, over 2.327 million voters, including 566,000 young voters, 1.176 million men, 1.151 million women, and 60 third-gender individuals, are eligible to vote
J&K Assembly polls: Nominations must be submitted by September 5, with scrutiny on September 6, withdrawals by September 9, and voting on September 25
Three terrorists are believed to have been killed in two separate anti-infiltration operations along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, the army said on Thursday. Operations in the Machhal and Tangdhar areas were launched on Wednesday following intelligence inputs, it said. In a post on X, the army's Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said, "Based on intelligence inputs with respect to likely infiltration bids, a joint operation was launched by the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police on the intervening night of August 28 and 29 in the general area Machhal, Kupwara." "Suspicious movement was observed in bad weather and was engaged with effective firing by troops; two terrorists are likely to have been neutralised," it said. The army said another terrorist is believed to have been killed in an operation along the LoC in the Tangdhar area. "Based on intelligence inputs regarding likely infiltration bids, a joint anti-infiltration operation was launch
Elections in Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled between September 18 and October 1 and the counting of votes will occur on October 4
J&K Assembly polls: The elections in Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled to be held in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1 and the counting of votes will take place on October 4
Jammu and Kashmir elections: The polls will be held in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, with the vote counting scheduled for October 4
As preparations for assembly elections gain momentum in Jammu and Kashmir, the relief and rehabilitation department has established a helpdesk to assist eligible voters from the displaced Kashmiri community residing across the country. This initiative aims to facilitate smooth polling at special polling stations and through postal ballots, according to officials. The department has intensified efforts to ensure free and fair elections for Kashmiri migrants, with the Election Commission (EC) setting up 24 special polling stations and a postal ballot scheme for displaced community voters in Jammu, Udhampur, and Delhi, they said. "A helpdesk has been established in our office and across various zones. Several employees have been deployed to ensure seamless facilitation of migrant polling," Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner Dr Arvind Karwani told PTI. Karwani emphasised that the helpdesk is actively addressing issues faced by migrants, with the goal of enhancing voter facilities .
All three candidates of Jamaat-e-Islami will contest from different constituencies in South Kashmir
PDP youth president Waheed Para on Tuesday said the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were an opportunity for the people to reclaim the space from where they were "unconstitutionally" evicted after abrogation of Article 370. Para, who filed his nomination papers for Pulwama assembly segment as a PDP candidate, said he would focus on restoration of dignity and identity of people of Kashmir. "This is an opportunity to raise the voice against injustices and the atmosphere of fear prevailing in Kashmir. This election is an opportunity for people of Jammu and Kashmir to reclaim the space that they have been evicted from unconstitutionally after August 5, 2019," Para told reporters Asked about the key points of his election campaign, Para, who is out on bail in a terror case, said, "The key agenda in this election is the identity and dignity of the people of Kashmir. This is the biggest issue for us, we have been raising it earlier and we will continue to talk about it". The youth
Congress and the National Conference (NC) reached a seat-sharing agreement in which Congress will contest 32 of the 90 Assembly seats
The National Conference (NC) and the Congress Monday agreed to contest 51 and 32 seats respectively for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. One seat each has been allotted to the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), the allies announced at a joint press conference at NC president Farooq Abdullah's residence here after day-long negotiations. According to their seat-sharing formula, the NC will contest 51 seats in J-K and the Congress 32. They also said there will be a "friendly contest" on five seats of the Union Territory. The leaders said the list of seats each party will be contesting, as well as the names of the candidates, will be issued later. The NC president said the alliance is up for a fight against the powers "who are dividing the people not just in this state, but across the country." "The INDIA bloc was made with an aim to fight those forces who are trying to create a communal divide in the country. Today, I am happy that the negotiat
The Centre on Monday announced that five new districts, namely Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra, and Changthang, are being carved out in Ladakh
The elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, and counting of votes will take place on October 4
The Congress leadership is set to hold deliberations with the National Conference on Monday to iron out differences over seat-sharing for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls. Congress general secretary organisation, K C Venugopal will hold talks with NC president Farooq Abdullah and vice president Omar Abdullah at their residence here, leaders in both the parties said. They said the meeting was necessitated after "some differences" cropped up in seat-sharing arrangement during the talks between the local leadership of the parties. The leaders said both the parties have agreed over the seat sharing formula to a large extent. "The central leaders of Congress will meet our leaderships to talk about alliance. Some clarification is needed on some issues, and this will be done today," NC provincial president, Kashmir, Nasir Aslam Wani told reporters outside the residence of the Abdullahs. He expressed hope that by the afternoon, "everything will be clear". "Two parties have to contest
Peoples Democratic Party Chief Mehbooba Mufti promises Article 370 restoration, diplomatic dialogues with Pakistan, and return of Kashmiri pandits in J-K Assembly elections manifesto
NC vice president Omar Abdullah on Sunday claimed the PDP has copied his party's manifesto and asked the Mehbooba Mufti-led party to not field candidates against NC-Congress nominees for the betterment of Jammu and Kashmir as their agenda is the same. Abdullah's remarks came a day after Mehbooba said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would extend complete support to the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance and leave all seats in the elections for the coalition if it accepts her party's agenda. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister was addressing NC workers in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district, where activist Sayim Mustafa joined the party. Abdullah said the NC has prepared an extensive manifesto for the assembly polls which has been copied by other parties. "We have not left out anything in the manifesto. Today, everyone has copied our manifesto. They should have kept some differences," he said, referring to the PDP's manifesto which was released by Mehbooba on ...