Srinagar, 17-04-2024 : The Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) has announced that its chairman, Ghulam Nabi Azad, will not be contesting in the Lok Sabha elections from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir. This decision was confirmed by Mohammad Amin Bhat, the party’s provincial president in Kashmir. Instead, the DPAP has chosen to field Mohammad Saleem Parray as its candidate for the seat. Notably, other prominent candidates vying for the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary seat include PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference senior leader Mian Altaf.
Speaking to reporters in Anantnag, Bhat stated that the decision was made after a meeting with Azad, during which he expressed his reasons for not contesting, although those reasons were not disclosed. “He gave some reasons (in the meeting) and then we took a decision on fielding Parray from the seat,” Bhat explained.
This decision comes after an earlier announcement by the DPAP on April 2, wherein they declared Azad as their candidate for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat. Taj Mohiuddin, a leader of the DPAP, had conveyed this decision following a meeting of the party’s core committee.
With Azad stepping aside from the electoral contest for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, the political landscape in the region may witness new dynamics as the election approaches.