Former J&K Chief Minister Breaks Away from Congress, Sets Sights on Parliamentary Seat
SNS KASHMIR
Srinagar:In a significant political development, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has announced his candidacy for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency. This decision marks Azad’s departure from the Congress party, where he had been associated for five decades, to form his own political entity, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP).
Taj Mohiuddin, a leader within DPAP, confirmed the decision, stating, “Today, the core committee of DPAP met and we have decided that Ghulam Nabi Azad will contest the Anantnag-Rajouri seat.”
Azad’s last electoral outing at the national level was in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, where he suffered defeat in the Udhampur constituency against BJP’s Jitendra Singh by a margin exceeding 60,000 votes. The upcoming 2024 election, therefore, presents a crucial opportunity for Azad to make his mark once again on the national political stage.
The Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, now expanded following delimitation, is scheduled to go to polls on May 7 during the third phase of Lok Sabha elections. The notification for the same will be issued on April 12, with April 19 being the deadline for filing nominations and April 22 set as the last date for withdrawal of candidature.
While there have been discussions regarding a potential alliance between DPAP and Altaf Bukhari’s Apni Party, no significant progress has been made thus far, with DPAP focusing on its electoral strategy independently.
In a parallel development, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Jammu and Kashmir has announced its decision not to directly contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, opting instead to focus on thwarting the influence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the region.
The Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in five phases, with polling scheduled for April 19 (Udhampur), April 26 (Jammu), May 7 (Anantnag-Rajouri), May 13 (Srinagar), and May 20 (Baramulla). Counting of votes and result declaration is slated for June 4