Bloodlines Collide at EVMs: Nephews Battle Uncles in Rajouri's Electoral Wars

The border Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing fierce electoral battles between uncles and nephews in two Assembly segments of Budhal and Kalakote-Sunderbani Assembly segments.

The fate of uncles and their rival nephews will be decided by the voters of these two constituencies on Wednesday during the second phase of polling.

Interestingly in both constituencies, uncles are contesting on BJP tickets and their nephews are fighting on the National Conference mandates.

In the Gujjar-dominated Budhal assembly segment of Rajouri district, there is a direct fight between BJP's Choudhary Zulfikar Ali and his nephew and National Conference candidate Javaid Iqbal Choudhary.

Choudhary Zulfikar, a political stalwart, former minister, and two-time MLA is facing a tough fight from his nephew Javaid Iqbal, who is an elected member of the Block Development Council (BDC).

The Budhal seat, reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) community, is one of the 26 constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir set to go to the polls in the second phase on September 25.

Although there are four candidates in the fray, there is a direct fight between Choudhary Zulfikar Ali of the BJP and his nephew Javed Iqbal Choudhary of the NC.

Choudhary Zulfikar, a prominent Gujjar politician, has contested elections from the region three times, winning twice in 2008 and 2014 from the erstwhile Darhal seat, and has served as a minister in the BJP-PDP coalition government. He joined the BJP a couple of days after the announcement of Assembly elections in J&K.

Choudhary Zulfikar is the son of Choudhary Mohammad Hussain who won elections on this Assembly segment in 1967, 1977, 1987, and 1996 elections.

Other candidates in the race include Guftar Ahmed of the PDP and Abdul Rashid of the BSP. Ahmed, a young tribal activist, calls for an end to dynastic politics in the region.

There are 95,072 eligible voters, including 44,761 women, in the seat and 136 polling stations.

It's Uncle versus Nephew on Kalakote -Sunderbani seat also

The Budhal Assembly segment is witnessing fighting between the maternal uncle and nephew, in the Kalakote-Sunderbani seat the electoral battle is between the paternal uncle and his real nephew.
Thakur Randhir Singh, a BJP candidate has locked into a fierce electoral battle with his nephew Yashu Vardhan Singh, a National Conference candidate.

Thakur Rashpal Singh, father of Yashu Vardhan Singh had won elections on this Assembly segment in 2002 and 2008 elections. In the 2014 Assembly elections, BJP candidate Abdul Ghani Kohli won and became MLA from this seat. He secured a total of 25225 votes. Jammu & Kashmir National Conference candidate Rachhpal Singh stood second with a total of 19047 votes. He lost by 6178 votes.

Both Randhir Singh and Yashu Vardhan Singh staking their claim on the legacy of Thakur Randhir Singh.

Nephew charges uncle with hatching conspiracy to rig elections

On the eve of Javaid Iqbal Choudhary, has approached the Election Commission with an urgent plea, alleging the collapse of the election machinery in District Rajouri.
Choudhary has raised serious concerns regarding the impartiality of local election authorities, accusing them of colluding with the BJP candidate, Zulfkar Ali, ahead of the polling scheduled for tomorrow.

In a detailed letter to the Election Commission, Choudhary outlined several alarming incidents that suggest a breakdown of enforcement mechanisms in the district. He accused local authorities of turning a blind eye to widespread reports of cash and liquor distribution under the guise of security operations.
According to Choudhary, despite numerous complaints, these activities have continued unchecked, with evidence of such practices circulating widely on social media platforms.

Choudhary also claimed that enforcement agencies are largely absent from the Budhal constituency, forcing local citizens to take matters into their own hands by monitoring vehicles suspected of transporting cash, liquor, and BJP voter slips.

Choudhary in his letter was the alleged detention of over 50 National Conference election agents and community leaders by local police officers and magistrates. He accused local authorities of deliberately targeting JKNC workers to facilitate the BJP's electoral efforts.