The Hindu : Pampore getting ready for bypoll

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 03, 2003

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Pampore getting ready for bypoll

By Our Staff Reporter

Jammu Feb. 2. Famous for its Saffron fields, the Pampore Assembly segment in Jammu and Kashmir is all set to go for byelection on February 26. The seat had become vacant following the killing of the People's Democratic Party MLA, Abdul Aziz Mir, by militants.

The byelection has evinced a lot of interest in political circles as observers feel that it will be a test to the popularity of the three-month-old PDP-led coalition Government.

None of the parties has announced its candidates for poll. In the last election, the PDP had won the seat by a close margin in a low voter turn out of 7.12 per cent. Eleven candidates had contested the seat. Mr. Mir, who had secured 3811 votes, had scraped through with a thin margin of 705 votes.

The choice of the PDP candidate will be closely watched as the Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, is not a member of State legislature and will have to become a member of the Assembly or the Council within six months. Some PDP leaders feel that the Chief Minister should contest the byelection, but when the slain MLA was laid to rest, there were demands that the ticket for the vacant seat should be given to his family member. The Congress has decided not to field its candidate and will support the PDP candidate. Hence, it is likely to be a straight contest between the PDP and the National Conference.

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