The Jammu Kashmir National Conference has on Monday annonced its candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
A spokesperson of Jammu Kashmir National Conference informed The Kashmiriyat that Mian Altaf will contest the south Kashmir seat where Rajouri has been recently added.
Mian Altaf, though an MLA from Ganderbal, is being seen as a candidate with high potential in south Kashmir with his massive support among the Gujjar Bakerwal community in Rajouri and Poonch, they said.
Mian Altaf’s candidature may prove to be a massive help for National Conference on the Anantnag- Rajouri (south Kashmir) seat, where BJP has not finalised any candidate as of yet. PDP may also field a candidate for the polls, however, sources indicate that the party is mulling to support JKNC in the upcoming polls.
The Anantnag constituency, stretching across the Pir Panjal range and now encompassing Rajouri and Poonch areas post-delimitation, is slated for polls on May 7 during the third phase.
The official notification is scheduled for issuance on April 12, with April 19 marking the deadline for filing nominations. Candidates will have until April 22 to withdraw their candidature.
While the contest in Jammu looked heavily one sided in the favour of Bhartiya Janta party, the INDIA alliance’s candidature of Lal Singh, a former ministers, may give tough fight to the ruling party in the Udhampur Lok Sabha seat.
INDIA alliance last month had proposed that National conference will contest two seats in Kashmir and one seat would be contested by PDP, while the Congress will not contest any. Insiders from the National Conference say that several senior leaders from the party want to contest the elections on their own and not announce any pre-poll alliance.