Srinagar, Apr 7 (UNI) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti will contest from Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar on Sunday, senior leader of PDP and Parliamentary board Chairman Sartaj Madni announced that party President Mehbooba Mufti is the party candidate from the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
He also announced that the youth leader Waheed-Ur-Rehman Para will be fielded from Srinagar and Fayaz Ahmad Mir from Baramulla seat.
With the announcement of PDP candidates the INDIA alliance has ended in Jammu and Kashmir and two constituents of the bloc are up against each other.
National Conference had also recently announced their candidate Gujjar leader Mian Altaf Ahmad from the Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary seat.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) President Ghulam Nabi Azad is contesting from the south seat.
Addressing media persons, Mufti said New Delhi is pushing full force to the south constituency (Anantnag-Rajouri seat) by fielding all candidates.
“Some are being fielded directly and some indirectly”, she said.
“As I am a fighter and I believe in my workers I decided to accept this challenge to contest from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat”, she said adding “I requested to the people to vote for the candidate who will raise the issues of Jammu and Kashmir people in the parliament without any fear”.
“As you know the south constituency where all my Kashmiri brothers, Gujjars, Pahari, Hindu of Rajouri, Nowshera, and Sikh will support me keeping in view the present situation in Jammu and Kashmir that has emerged after the unconstitutional abrogation of article 370”, she said.
Replying to a question Mehbooba said “Either Congress will support me or not but I have full trust in my people. I would also request the people who are associated with the National Conference and Congress to support so that we could reach our voices to the Parliament”.
She said the biggest manifesto of her party is to support PDP so that the right voice could reach the parliament.
She said her party is supporting the INDIA alliance as a dangerous atmosphere has emerged in the entire country where minorities are being targeted day in and day out.
She said unemployment has risen to a great extent and we have decided to support that alliance that will move forward keeping in mind the ongoing circumstances of Jammu and Kashmir.
Replying to another question, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said “We also made efforts here to remain in the INDIA alliance which was my personal choice also to move forward together and even I had said in Mumbai that being Farooq Abdullah a senior leader whatever decision he will take for the seat sharing in Jammu and Kashmir will be accepted by us”
She said “We have no objection with their decision if they (NC) are fighting elections from all the three seats of Kashmir valley”, adding “unfortunate is that they did not even bother to at least ask us about it which left no option for us to announce our candidature”
She said her workers were highly depressed when the National Conference said that PDP has ended and there is no sign of its survival.
Asked that some BJP leaders with Ani Party President Altaf Bukhari and Sajjad Lone of Peoples Conference are making an alliance, would that be a challenge for you, Mehbooba said, “you counted the BJP account but did not count Azad Sahab. Democracy is a battle of ideas and anybody can fight elections against anyone. This is not a personal fight rather a war of opinions, she added.
“I had no interest in contesting the elections but what I saw was the situation of the people who could not even raise their voices so someone should speak the truth about the people”, she added.
