Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) founder Ghulam Nabi Azad said he has decided to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to restore state status for Jammu and Kashmir and to continue his fight for the protection of land and job rights in the state. Ghulam Nabi will contest from Anantnag-Rajori seat.
Former J&K CM Senior Congressmen Azad to contest LS polls
“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 said.
Azad left the Congress in 2022 and ended his five-decade long association with the party.
After this he formed the DPAP. “There is speculation that state status will be restored in Jammu and Kashmir, but on the lines of Delhi and Puducherry, where the LG will have to approve every decision taken by the Chief Minister and his government,” he said.
This is not acceptable to Ghulam Nabi Azad. Perhaps, it will not be acceptable to any Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Gujjar or Pahari in Jammu and Kashmir as he said
Ghulam Nabi Azad in field for J&K statehood
Ghulam Nabi Azad, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Anantnag -Rajouri constituency, his party Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) said on Tuesday.
Azad said he has many reasons to contest the Lok Sabha elections but protecting the jobs and land of the people of Jammu and Kashmir is his top priority.
“We want full statehood. After that the assembly can pass a law that will reserve jobs only for people from the state while outsiders cannot buy land here,” he said.
Azad said he will use his 40 years of experience and influence as an MP to get full statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.
“I have fought for the people of the country in the Rajya Sabha, whether it is a Congress government or a BJP government. I think another fight is needed in the Lok Sabha,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir Opposition Leaders are on front foot
Senior CPI(M) leader in Jammu and Kashmir M Y Tarigami accused the BJP of resorting to dictatorship and said his party would not contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the Union territory to consolidate votes and get rid of “tyrants”.
“We will not contest (the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir) directly. Our political approach in today’s times would be to defeat the BJP, to stop them from forming government. They have already done a lot of damage to Jammu and Kashmir,” Tarigami told news agency PTI in an exclusive interview.
Reacting to National Conference leader Omar Abdullah expressing surprise at Azad’s choice of constituency to contest, Azad said, “This is my state. It will be wrong for anyone to say you are an outsider… we are all Indians.”
PDP & NC to contest against each other in the valley
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference (NC), both part of the INDIA bloc in Jammu and Kashmir, will compete against each other in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections for the three seats in the Kashmir valley.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on April 3, Wednesday, said that the PDP is engaged in discussions with its leaders and workers about contesting the three Lok Sabha seats of the Kashmir Valley.
Mufti’s statement comes after the NC announced the candidature of senior party leader Mian Altaf Ahmed Lahrvi from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat of Jammu and Kashmir, virtually ending chances of an alliance with the PDP in the Valley.
The voting in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in five phases beginning April 19 and the counting of the votes will take place on June 4.
