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Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who quit the Congress recently, will contest from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in the Lok Sabha elections.
Making the announcement, Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) leader Taj Mohiuddin said, "In the core committee meeting, we have decided that Ghulam Nabi Azad will be contesting from the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat." He further said that it was a tough decision but it is only Ghulam Nabi Azad who is acceptable. "This is a unique seat. One popular in Kashmir does not necessarily make him popular in Jammu also. It was a very tough decision for us. We did analyse both the places and the core committee decided that it is only Ghulam Nabi Azad who is acceptable to both," he said. He also pointed out that the agenda of the party is to establish Jammu and Kashmir as a state. "Our agenda is very clear. We want the state to be established. The second thing is that the land here should be for local people and the jobs should be for people from Jammu and Kashmir," Taj Mohiuddin said. Notably, Ghulam Nabi Azad will be fighting the Lok Sabha polls for the first time after his loss in the 2014 General Elections from Udhampur seat. In the 2014 elections, Jitendra Singh from the BJP gathered 46.8 per cent of votes on the Udhampur seat while Ghulam Nabi Azad who fought on the Congress ticket gathered 40.9 per cent. The Lok Sabha polls in the Union Territory will be held in the first five phases on April 19 (Udhampur), April 26 (Jammu), May 7 (Anantnag-Rajouri), May 13 (Srinagar) and May 20 (Baramulla). The counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.The Lok Sabha polls will continue until June 1 and will be held in seven phases. (ANI)
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