Omar hints that PDP may not contest from south Kashmir
Srinagar: Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Anantnag -Rajouri constituency, his party DPAP said.
Azad left the Congress in 2022, ending his five-decade-long association with the party, and floated his own political outfit – Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP).
“Today the core committee of DPAP met and we have decided that (party president) Ghulam Nabi Azad will contest the Anantnag-Rajouri seat,” DPAP leader Taj Mohiuddin told reporters here.
This will be the first Lok Sabha election for Azad after he lost from Udhampur constituency in 2014 to BJP leader Jitendra Singh.
On the possibility of an alliance with the Apni Party of Altaf Bukhari, Mohiuddin said no progress has been made on that front.
“We are short of time and there was not much headway in talks. So it is better they do their bit and we do ours. They were not in any case interested in the Anantnag seat,” he added.
Mohiuddin said candidates for other Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir will be decided in due course.
Earlier on Monday, National Conference (NC) named Mian Altaf as its candidate from this south Kashmir-Pir Panjal parliamentary segment.
NC working President, Omar Abdullah today hinted that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will not contest from Anantnag LS seat.
He hit at media for making efforts to create a wedge between his party and the PDP, which are partners in the opposition INDIA bloc and said, “”Why are you making the PDP fight us? Has the PDP said anywhere that they will contest elections? It is you people who are fuelling this. I heard the speech of Mehboba Mufti in Delhi, she said Farooq Sahib and we are together and we will not break the INDIA alliance. Why are you trying to make us fight?”
