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As many as 11 ministers along with the Speaker and his deputy were trounced in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections in which the ruling National Conference was swept out of power by a strong anti-incumbency wave.
Only six ministers managed to win in the elections, which saw the ruling party's strength in the assembly halved and its chief ministerial candidate Omar Abdullah biting the dust in Ganderbal, considered a pocket borough of the Abdullah family.
Speaker Abdul Ahad Vakil lost the race in Sopore and his deputy Ghulam Haider Malik in Bani.
Among the losers in Kashmir division are Agriculture Minister Chaudhary Ramzan (Handwara), Education Minister Mohammed Shafi (Uri), Commerce Minister Mustafa Kamal (Gulmarg), Food Minister Bashir Ahmed Nengroo (Pulwama), Forest Minister Peerzada Ghulam Ahmed Shah (Eevsar) and Minister of State for Tourism Sakina Itoo (Noorabad).
In Jammu division, Power Minister S S Salathia (Vijaypur), Information Minister Ajat Shatru Singh (Nagrota), Sports Minister Harbans Singh and Health Minister Govind Ram Sharma (Akhnoor) were routed.
Another minister Qamar Ali Akhoon lost in Kargil.
Those who managed to retain their seats are Health Minister Mian Altaf (Kangan), Works Minister Ali Mohammed Sagar (Khanyar), Rural Development Minister Ajay Sadotra (Mud), Social Welfare Minister Iftikhar Hussain Ansari (Pattan), Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather (Chrar-e-Sharief) and Housing Minister Ghulam Mohiddin Shah (Batmaloo).
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