Senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday (February 17) indicated that he would not be contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as he would campaign for the candidates for his newly formed Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) candidates. Azad, who has not contested Lok Sabha elections after his defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, asked his party leaders to gear up as 2024 would be the election year for Jammu and Kashmir.
"Parliament election is 100 percent taking place on its time and I can only guess about the assembly polls (in J-K) as I have no contact with the Election Commission or government. But it (assembly elections) has to take place as the Supreme Court has set a deadline of September,” Azad said while talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in Nagrota.
Asked whether he would be contesting himself in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Azad said "I have to campaign for my party (candidates) and if I contest, I will be held up at one place."
Azad, who resigned from Congress after decades of association, also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the issues of agitating farmers "once for all" as the protest is neither good for the government nor the farmers.
After parting ways with Congress in August 2022, Azad floated his own party in the Jammu region.
Political analysts claim that Azad, who has a vote bank in the south of Pir Panjal areas like Doda, Kishtwar, Baderwah and Poonch, will be able to divide the votes of opposition party candidates.
(With PTI inputs)
ALSO READ | 'GDP of Jammu and Kashmir increased in last four years due to reforms', says LG Manoj Sinha
