Rahul Gandhi Launches Congress Campaign in J&K with Rallies in Jammu and Kashmir
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is set to spearhead the party’s election campaign in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on Wednesday, marking the beginning of the Congress’s efforts for the upcoming Assembly elections. Gandhi is scheduled to address two pivotal rallies in the union territory, kicking off the first phase of a three-phase electoral process.
According to Congress sources, a special plane carrying Rahul Gandhi will touch down at Jammu airport at 10 a.m. Upon arrival, he will board a helicopter to Sangaldan in the Ramban district, where he will address a rally in support of party candidate Vikar Rasool Wani around 11 a.m. Sangaldan is part of the Banihal Assembly constituency, which has seen contention between the Congress and National Conference (NC) over candidate selection due to unresolved seat-sharing negotiations.
Following the rally in Ramban, Gandhi will travel to the Dooru Assembly constituency in the Anantnag district of Kashmir. At 12:30 p.m., he will address another rally in favor of Congress candidate G.A. Mir. This event will mark the start of a series of high-profile Congress campaigns featuring prominent party leaders.
Accompanying Rahul Gandhi during his campaign will be party general secretary Bharatsinh Solanki and state Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra. In addition to Gandhi’s efforts, other Congress star campaigners, including Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, will also be actively campaigning in J&K.
Three former JKPCC presidents—Vikar Rasool Wani, G.A. Mir, and Peerzada Sayeed—are contesting in the first phase of the J&K elections, which are scheduled for September 18.
In a pre-poll alliance, the Congress and NC have agreed on a seat-sharing arrangement where the NC will contest 52 seats and Congress will field candidates in 31 seats. The alliance has also left two seats open for the CPI(M) and the Panthers Party. In a notable development, both parties will engage in ‘friendly contests’ in five constituencies, including Nagrota, Bhaderwah, Banihal, Doda in Jammu division, and Sopore in Kashmir division.
J&K’s Assembly comprises 90 seats, with 47 allocated to Kashmir and 43 to Jammu. Among these, nine seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and seven for Scheduled Castes (SC).
