The Congress party has appointed Tariq Hameed Karra as the President of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, just hours after the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for assembly elections in the Union Territory. Additionally, Tara Chand and Raman Bhalla have been named as the working presidents of the committee.
Karra, who was previously serving as a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee, replaces Vikar Rasool Wani, the outgoing president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee. Wani has now been appointed as a Special Invitee to the Congress Working Committee.
According to a statement from the Congress party, “The Congress President has appointed the President and Working Presidents of the Jammu & Kashmir PCC as follows, with immediate effect: PCC President – Tariq Hameed Karra, Working Presidents – Tara Chand and Raman Bhalla. The Congress President has also appointed Vikar Rasool Wani as Special Invitee to the Congress Working Committee, effective immediately. Tariq Hameed Karra has been relieved from his current position as a Permanent Invitee to the Congress Working Committee. The party appreciates the contributions of the outgoing PCC President, Vikar Rasool Wani.”
Karra, who served as the finance minister of the former state during the PDP-Congress coalition government, secured a significant victory in the Lok Sabha election from Srinagar, defeating National Conference’s Dr. Farooq Abdullah by over 40,000 votes, marking Abdullah’s first electoral loss in four decades.
A former leader of the PDP, Karra opposed the BJP-PDP alliance and resigned from both the Lok Sabha and the PDP in 2016. He joined the Congress party in February 2017.
The Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled to take place in three phases: the first phase on September 18, the second on September 25, and the third on October 1. The results will be announced on October 4.
The Union Territory has a total of 90 assembly constituencies, including 74 General, nine reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), and seven for Scheduled Castes (SC).
Jammu and Kashmir has a total electorate of 87.09 lakh, with 44.46 lakh male voters, 42.62 lakh female voters, 169 transgender voters, 82,590 PwDs (Persons with Disabilities), 73,943 very senior citizens, 2,660 centenarians, 76,092 service voters, and 3.71 lakh first-time voters.
