Former J&K Congress chief Vikar Rasool Wani confident of hat-trick in Banihal
Former president of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee Vikar Rasool Wani was among the early voters to cast their ballot at a polling station in Ramban district on Wednesday. Wani, a former minister who won the Banihal constituency seat in the 2008 and 2014 elections, expressed confidence in securing the seat for a third consecutive term.
He faces competition from six other candidates, including National Conference’s Sajjad Shaheen, PDP’s Imtiyaz Shan, and BJP’s Mohd Saleem Bhat.
“Who is at fault that Assembly elections are taking place in J&K after a gap of 10 long years? BJP is responsible for this otherwise the elections should have taken place in 2019,” the Congress leader said after casting his vote at Tulbagh-Rallu polling station.
Wani said the people of the segment will vote in favour of the Congress given its developmental track record. “Today, I see overwhelming support in my favour than in the past. I am confident of victory in this election as well. Compared to previous elections, my confidence is even higher. We will win this election too,” he told reporters at a polling station.
Banihal is one of the five seats where both the NC and the Congress alliance partners have fielded their candidates under what they called ‘friendly contest’.
“National Conference and PDP had done nothing for Banihal and all the developmental work in the region was done by Congress. The people will vote for that work as NC and PDP have zero contribution in developmental works in Banihal,” he said, claiming that NC and BJP candidates are no threat to him.
“BJP has no base in Banihal and their presence is mostly in Jammu,” he said. Wani emphasised that the Congress is poised to win these elections as people seek an end to Central rule. “People have turned out in large numbers since morning to vote. We are contesting five seats in the Chenab Valley. We are confident of winning four seats,” he said.
