The chairman of DPAP and former Chief Minister of Jammu Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad will contest from the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency.
Azad, who parted ways with Congress after over three decades, formed his own party DPAP in 2022. He had lost from Udhampur constituency in 2014 to BJP leader Dr. Jitendra Singh.
“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 here.
“We are short of time and there was not much headway in talks. So it is better they do their bit and
we do ours. They were not in any case interested in Anantnag seat,” he added.
Mohiuddin said candidates for other Lok Sabha Seats in Kashmir will be decided in due course, However, sources informed The Kashmiriyat that Azad will be the sole contestant for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat from the coalition of Apni Party and DPAP.
Azad’s inclusion in the Anantnag-Rajouri race will introduce a new dimension, transforming it into a multi-faceted contest. Previously viewed as a head-to-head battle between NC and BJP, with PDP yet to nominate a candidate, the dynamics of the seat have now shifted significantly.