By IANS,
Srinagar/Jammu : Three former chief ministers – Farooq Abdullah, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and Ghulam Nabi Azad – Sunday won the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections while many former ministers joined the ranks of the losers.
The following are the prominent winners:
· National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah won from both Hazratbal and Sonawar in Srinagar.
· Omar Abdullah won from Ganderbal in north Kashmir. He defeated Qazi Afzal of the Peoples Democratic Party, who had humiliated Omar in the 2002 elections.
· Ghulam Nabi Azad retained his Bhaderwah seat in the Muslim-majority mountainous area of Doda, which falls under Jammu region.
· Chaman Lal Gupta, a former defence minister, of the BJP won from Jammu West
· Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Sayeed, a former Indian home minister, won Anantnag seat in south Kashmir
· PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti won from Wachi, also in south Kashmir.
· Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) retained his seat in Kulgam in south Kashmir
· Former deputy chief minister and senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig won from Baramulla
Among prominent losers were:
· Mangat Ram Sharma of the Congress, a former deputy chief minister, lost from Jammu West
· Jugal Kishore of the Congress, a former education minister, lost to a BJP candidate from Reasi in Jammu
· Former agriculture minister and senior PDP leader Abdul Aziz Zargar lost from Noorabad in south Kashmir to Sakina Itoo of the National Conference
· Former finance minister Tariq Hameed Kara of the PDP lost from Batmaloo in Srinagar seat to National Conference candidate Irfan Shah.