AZAD DROPS OUT OF ANANTNAG POLL RACE
Former CM’s DPAP has instead named advocate Saleem Parray as candidate from the seat
SRINAGAR Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Democratic Progressive Azad Party president Ghulam Nabi Azad will not contest the Lok Sabha polls from the AnantnagRajouri seat. The party has instead named advocate Saleem Parray as the candidate from the seat. Earlier, the party had named Azad as its candidate from Anantnag-Rajouri. Azad on Wednesday chaired a meeting of officer bearers from south Kashmir at Khanbal, Anantnag, where consensus was reached over Parray’s name.
SRINAGAR Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) president Ghulam Nabi Azad will not contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat. The party has instead named advocate Saleem Parray as the candidate from the seat.
Earlier, the party had named Azad as its candidate from AnantnagRajouri.
Azad on Wednesday chaired a meeting of officer bearers from south Kashmir at Khanbal, Anantnag, where consensus was reached over Parray’s name. “It was decided that instead of Ghulam Nabi Azad, I will be contesting the elections from Anantnag. The decision was taken after consultations with all leaders from south Kashmir,” Parray, the nephew of former legislator Amin Bhat, said.
The 40-year-old had taken a plunge into politics four years ago and is a member District Development Council member from Anantnag Last month, DPAP treasurer Taj Mohi-udDin had announced Azad’s candidature in Srinagar after the core committee of the party gave approval on the party head’s name.
After resigning from Congress in 2022, Azad formed his own party. Year on, he has been holding rallies across Jammu and Kashmir to bolster public support with particular focus on south Kashmir. The former CM has managed to rope in several former Congress legislators who hold sway in their respective areas in Anantnag, Poonch and Rajouri.
Azad backing out from polls, however, could affect the confidence of party leaders and hit the newly formed party’s prospects. Mehbooba Mufti’s entry into the fray from Anantnag and Congress supporting NC candidate Mian Altaf, a prominent Gujjar leader, is likely to have forced a rethink.
“The previous decision to field Azad was taken in haste without proper homework. It’s going to hurt us,” a senior DPAP leader said.
After Azad lost Lok Sabha polls from Udhampur in 2014, he was hoping to wrest the seat which is spread on the assembly segments of south Kashmir, Poonch and Rajouri and has a sizeable population of Gujjars and Paharis.
Anantnag-Rajouri will go to the polls on May 7 in the third phase of voting.
JAMMU Democratic Progressive Alliance Party (DPAP) chairperson Ghulam Nabi Azad backing out of the race for highprofile Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency has set the ball rolling for more politicking, with speculations being rife that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may field local unit chief Ravinder Raina from the constituency.
BJP sources in New Delhi told HT that Azad’s exit prompted the party high command to mull over Raina’s candidature. “The candidature of Ravinder Raina is being mulled for the Anantnag seat. However, the final call is yet to be taken,” sources said.
Notably, the BJP top brass including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah had dropped enough hints about not contesting the three seats of Kashmir. The last date of filing nomination for the Anantnag is April 19.
Parties seek deferring polls over poor weather
Meanwhile, political parties in the wake of heavy snowfall on Mughal Road have requested the Election Commission to conduct elections to AnantnagRajouri Lok Sabha seat either in sixth or the seventh phase on May 26 or June 1. “The Mughal Road is blocked due to heavy snowfall. So, it is not possible for candidates to reach,” advocate Syed Zeeshan, who is looking to contest as an independent, said.