Ex-J&K Congress chief joins early voters, says confident of hat-trick victory 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 Banihal in Jammu and Kashmir's 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 told PTI after casting his vote at Tulbagh-Rallu polling station.

Wani said he could not visit all parts of the constituency due to paucity of time but expressed confidence that the people of the segment will vote in favour of the Congress given its developmental track record.

"I contested and won in 2008 and 2014. 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. Mark my words," 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'.