Ghulam Nabi Azad Won’t Contest Lok Sabha Polls

Ghulam Nabi Azad, chief of Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) and former Congress leader, will not contest the Lok Sabha elections, his party has said. Mr Azad was expected to contest from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir.

The contest in Anantnag was expected to be his first test of popularity in Jammu and Kashmir since he quit the Congress in 2022.

On April 2, the DPAP announced that Azad will contest from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat.

Today, the DPAP said Mr Azad has some reasons not to contest — though the party did not make them public.

DPAP’s provincial president, Kashmir, Mohammad Amin Bhat said he gave “some reasons” at a internal meeting. The party then took the decision to field Mohammad Saleem Parray from the seat.

Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference senior leader Mian Altaf will now face off from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference chief Omar Abdullah has accused Mr Azad of carrying out a BJP script.

Mr Azad has “got instructions from the BJP,” he told reporters last week, when the former Congress leader indicated that hemight not contest in the upcoming polls.

“His party announced and it is quite ingenious on trying to back out and say he hasn’t made up his mind,” Mr Abdullah had said.