Political Battle in Kokernag: South Kashmir’s First ST-Backed Fight Supported by Non-ST Voters

Sameer Ahmad

Anantnag,09 Sep: For the first time, South Kashmir is witnessing a significant political contest between Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates, with substantial support from the non-ST population, in the Kokernag Assembly Constituency. This follows the 2022 delimitation process conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) after Jammu and Kashmir’s bifurcation into two Union Territories and the abrogation of its special status under Article 370.

The new electoral boundaries and the reservation of nine seats—three in Kashmir and six in Jammu—for Scheduled Tribes have set the stage for the first Assembly elections since 2014. Kokernag, designated as an ST constituency in Anantnag District, has 91,110 registered voters, of which 28,000 are ST voters and 63,110 are non-ST voters.

A total of ten candidates, including six Choudhury candidates, are competing for the Kokernag seat. Among the prominent candidates is Zaffar Choudhary, representing the National Conference (NC), who has a long-standing political lineage. His father, Choudhary Mohd Shafi, was a senior Congress leader and legislator. Zaffar began his political career in 2008, initially with NC, but switched to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2014. After serving as Minister of State during the PDP-BJP coalition government, Zaffar resigned from PDP in 2018 and has now rejoined NC.

(Zaffar Choudhary )

The other notable candidates include(Apni Party), and Choudhary Anwar Famda (AIP). Additionally, five independent candidates—Choudhary Gulzar, Dr. Ishfaq Choudhary, Adil Ahmad Khan, Bashir Kharri, and Syeed Shareef Shah—are also contesting the election. Several of these candidates are related to one another, highlighting the close-knit nature of the competition in the ST Kokernag Constituency.

While many of the candidates were unavailable for comment due to their busy schedules with election rallies, the race in Kokernag promises to be a defining moment in South Kashmir’s political landscape.