Omar Abdullah’s much-awaited cabinet expansion: Will Poonch Haveli get its first cabinet minister in over three decades? MLA Ajaz Jan’s supporters expect positive response

Omar Abdullah’s much-awaited cabinet expansion: Will Poonch Haveli get its first cabinet minister in over three decades? MLA Ajaz Jan’s supporters expect positive response

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH: As Chief Minister of the J&K UT, Omar Abdullah is likely to go after its much-awaited cabinet expansion; the question arises: will the Poonch Haveli constituency get its first cabinet berth in the last more than three decades of J&K politics?

It is pertinent to mention here that Surankote and Mendhar constituencies got a cabinet berth a number of times, but the Poonch Haveli constituency was denied the same for more than three decades. In the last six assembly elections, including a 2007 by-election, NC (Jan family) won the seat four times, while PDP and Congress won the seat one time each. But unfortunately, Congress, PDP, and NC ignored the Poonch Haveli constituency and gave cabinet berths in favour of the Surankote and Mendhar constituencies. In the 2024 assembly elections, young Ajaz Jan created history by taking 41,807 votes with a 42% plus vote share, but despite taking a record number of votes never taken by anyone in the history of Poonch elections, Jan, who is representing the Poonch Haveli constituency, was not blessed with a cabinet berth. The Jan family dominated the Poonch Haveli politics for nearly three decades and won the constituency four times. Late G.M. Jan took 16,150 votes in the 1996 assembly elections with a 39.62% vote share. In the 2002 assembly elections, the late G.M. Jan, in a straight contest with the then Congress candidate, the late Yashpaul Sharma, got 27,364 votes with 47.41% of the vote share, while Yashpaul Sharma got 26,718 votes with 46.3%. However, after the death of the late G.M. Jan, Jahangir Mir won the 2007 by-elections as a Congress candidate by taking 20,697 votes. The late Yashpaul Sharma, who fought as an independent candidate, got 16,299 votes, while Ajaz Jan, who fought for the first time, stood third by taking 16,227 votes. However, in the 2008 assembly elections, Ajaz Jan took 28,297 votes with 39.62% of the vote share. In the 2014 assembly elections, the then PDP’s winning candidate, Shah Mohd Tantray, took 19,488 votes, while Ajaz Jan got 15,976 votes. But in the 2024 assembly elections, Ajaz Jan took a record number of 41,807 votes in an almost one-sided contest with 42.72% of the vote share. The data available with “POONCH TODAY” shows that the Jan family continuously dominated Poonch politics for nearly three decades with around 40% of vote share. Despite having a massive record in favour of the National Conference, the Poonch Haveli constituency was never blessed with a cabinet berth during the last more than three decades. In the politics of Poonch district, Surankote and Mendhar assembly constituencies got opportunities to get a cabinet berth a number of times, but the Poonch Haveli constituency has never been blessed with a cabinet berth for decades, and it’s a cause of big concern for the voters of Poonch Haveli, opine political pundits. As far as the cabinet berth for Poonch Haveli is concerned, which was ignored for decades, it’s time for the ruling dispensation to think over this because only three leaders enjoyed the MOS/Deputy Minister status from Poonch Haveli, and they were the late M.D. Bandey, the late G.M. Mir Poonchi, and the late G.A. Ganai. The late Mohd Din Bandey also remained vice-chairman of the Pahari advisory board after the 1996 assembly elections, but as far as cabinet berths were concerned, Poonch Haveli was ignored time and again, particularly during the last few decades, while Surankote and Mendhar constituencies enjoyed cabinet berths various times. Late Choudhary Mohd Aslam, Late Lal Mohd Sabar, Nisar Ahmed, and Late Rafiq Khan enjoyed the cabinet berth, and after the 2024 assembly elections, Javed Ahmed Rana from Mendhar was given an opportunity to become a cabinet minister in Omar Abdullah’s government. A large number of supporters of MLA Haveli Ajaz Jan, while talking to “POONCH TODAY”, said that they expect a positive response from the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as far as giving a cabinet berth to Poonch Haveli is concerned. Now, with more than 41,807 votes taken by the National Conference, Poonch Haveli deserves to be recognised in the cabinet because the Haveli constituency was always ignored for a cabinet berth, which shows that a huge injustice was done with this elite constituency of the border district. It’s high time for the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, to address the sentiments of the people of Poonch Haveli, who were ignored for over three decades by various governments. Will Chief Minister Omar Abdullah address the most genuine issue of the people of the Poonch Haveli constituency by giving a cabinet berth to the young MLA Ajaz Jan? Only time will tell.