Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, his party DPAP said on Tuesday (March 2).
In 2022, Azad parted ways with the Congress, effectively concluding his fifty-year-long affiliation with the party. Subsequently, he established his own political outfit known as the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP).
"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 told reporters.
Notably, this will be the first Lok Sabha election for Azad after he lost from Udhampur constituency in 2014 to BJP leader Jitendra Singh.
Mian Altaf named as NC candidate
Meanwhile, the National Conference named renowned Gujjar leader Mian Altaf, a prominent figure among the Bakarwal and Pahari communities as its candidate for the newly redrawn Anantnag-Poonch-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat. The 66-year-old leader is a five-time MLA and former minister in the Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah governments.
The NC, aligned with the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc is set to contest three seats in the Kashmir Valley.
Jammu Kashmir Lok Sabha Election 2024
As per the Election Commission, the voting in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in five phases and the counting of the votes will take place on June 4.
- Phase 1, April 19: Udhampur
- Phase 2, April 26: Jammu
- Phase 3, May 7: Anantnag-Rajouri
- Phase 4, May 13: 1 seat - Srinagar
- Phase 5, May 20: Baramulla
In Ladakh, which has just one Parliamentary seat, the election here will take place in the fifth phase on May 20.
(With PTI inputs)
