Last Updated on April 1, 2024 at 6:32 pm
The INDIA bloc and PAGD are on the rocks in Jammu and Kashmir with the National Conference today announcing a popular Gujjar leader Mian Altaf Ahmed as the party’s candidate for South Kashmir’s Anantnag Lok Sabha seat for which the PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had also staked her claim.
Polling for the Anantnag seat will be held during the third phase on May 7.
NC vice-president Omar Abdullah made the announcement of fielding Altaf on the Anantnag-Rajouri-Poonch seat.
Altaf was a minister in the NC government and his father and grandfather were also NC MLAs. Altaf and his father Mian Bashir Ahmed were ministers in the NC government.
Expressing pleasure over his candidature, Omar emphasized Mian Altaf Ahmed’s widespread popularity across various segments of society and was confident that he would garner substantial support of the people.
Reacting to the NC announcing its candidate for the Anantnag seat, senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar said “we always stood for unity among the INDIA bloc parties, but they (NC) have broken it. Now we are free to decide our course of action and we are in the process of consultation on the issue. We will soon announce the party’s decision”.
NC and PDP are not only constituents of the INDIA bloc, but are also partners of the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) that was set up for restoration of the special status of J&K.
