Suhail Dar
Days after he was fielded as the candidate for Bijbehara assembly seat, Apni Party senior leader Tariq Shah Veeri has joined the National Conference.
On August 21, Tariq Shah Veeri was among the list of seven candidates released by Apni Party. The list of the candidates for the upcoming assembly polls in Jammu Kashmir were Hilal Ahmad Shah for Anantnag, Tariq Shah Veeri for Bijbehara, and Abdul Majeed Padder for D.H. Pora. Additionally, Riyaz Ahmad Bhat will run from Devsar, Gowher Hassan Wani from Zainapora, Mir Altaf from Pampore, and Owais Khan from Shopian.
The party’s manifesto was unveiled at a press conference by General Secretary Rafi Mir, who will be contesting from the Pahalgam constituency, alongside other senior leaders.
However, merely two days after the announcement of his name for the Bijbehara seat, Tariq Veeri has quit Apni Party and joined the National Conference.
On Friday, the National conference in a function held on Friday welcomed Tariq Veeri into the party folds in the presence of senior Jammu Kashmir National Conference leader Dr. Bashir Ahmed Veeri.
Dr. Bashir Veeri welcoming the former Apni Party leaders and the declared candidate of Apni Party for the Bijbehara seat said, “There is a wave of National Conference in the Kashmir valley and we are hopeful that people will support our vision that is reflected in our manifesto.”
Dr. Bashir Veeri who is the south Kashmir coordinator for the Jammu Kashmir National Conference is likely to fielded by the party for the Bijbehara seat.
A close fight is expected to take place between the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party which is likely to field debutant Iltija Mufti, the media advisor to former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.