Ex-Jammu & Kashmir CMs Mehbooba Mufti, Ghulam Nabi Azad Set To Faceoff On This Lok Sabha Seat

Lok Sabha Election 2024: PDP President Mehbooba Mufti will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Anantnag, with the party supporting the Congress in Jammu.

File Photo of former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Ghulam Nabi Azad. ( Image Source :PTI )

Lok Sabha Election 2024: The President of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti is set to face off directly with former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. PDP on Sunday declared that she would contest from the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, with the party's youth wing president Waheed Parra also entering the electoral fray from Srinagar and ex-Rajya Sabha member Mir Fayaz from Baramulla.

Notably, former J&K CM Ghulam Nabi Azad is also going to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024 from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat. The announcement regarding the same was made by his outfit Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) treasurer Taj Mohiuddin on Tuesday (April 2).

PDP To Support Congress In Jammu: Mehbooba Mufti

During a press conference, Mehbooba Mufti expressed the party's decision to support the Congress in Jammu. She stated, "We will contest elections on all three seats in Kashmir and support Congress in Jammu. We had also attempted to form an alliance in Kashmir and had officially declared Farooq Abdullah as the candidate for the seats. However, due to the public announcement by the National Conference, we were compelled to enter the electoral arena."

Mufti appealed to people from all walks of life, irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds, to extend their support to the PDP. She emphasized the need to address the situation in Kashmir and combat the alleged atrocities carried out by agencies. She stated, "I appeal to all people, whether they are Kashmiri, Gujjar, Bakarwal, or Pahadi, to support us. We have kept the situation in Kashmir at the forefront, and the oppression has become a norm, and we have to fight against it."

Asserting confidence in the party's cadre and supporters, the PDP President stated, "Whether or not Congress supports us, we have full confidence in the people and our party workers. We also appeal for support from the National Conference."

Lok Sabha Election Voting In Jammu and Kashmir

The Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in five phases. Voting for the Udhampur constituency will take place on April 19 in the first phase, followed by Jammu on April 26 in the second phase. The third phase, scheduled for May 7, will witness polling in Anantnag. Srinagar and Baramulla will go to polls in the fourth and fifth phases on May 13 and May 20, respectively. The results will be announced on June 4. Jammu and Kashmir has five Lok Sabha seats in total.