Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Apr 18 : Former Chief Minister and People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference (NC) candidate Mian Altaf and Apni Party candidate Zaffar Manhas submitted their nomination papers for the Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary seat today.
Mufti, accompanied by hundreds of party workers and leaders, filed her nomination papers after paying homage at her father’s grave in Bijbehara.
Mufti, while speaking to media persons, appealed to the people not to boycott the elections.
She emphasized that these elections are crucial for responding to the BJP’s actions against the dignity, identity, and resources of Jammu and Kashmir. Mehbooba stressed that the people must use their voting power to defeat the BJP.
“I urge all the people of Jammu and Kashmir not to boycott the elections. There are attempts to encourage boycotts, particularly in South Kashmir. We must expose these conspiracies. Vote for the candidate whom you believe will advocate for the oppressed people.”
The PDP president highlighted that this Lok Sabha election is not merely about developmental issues such as electricity, water, and roads. Instead, it is about addressing the onslaught on the dignity, identity, property, and resources of the region since 2019.
NC candidate Mian Altaf was accompanied by party’s vice president Omar Abdullah and senior Congress leader G A Mir. Click here to watch video
Omar hoped for Mian’s victory and thanked Mir who had come from Delhi to express support for the NC candidate.
While responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent statement that the NC, PDP and the Congress brought gun culture to Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah said that his party has been the worst sufferer of gun culture.
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He said that everyone is aware of where this gun culture came from and that the NC has been the worst sufferer of this gun culture.
“Over 3,000 senior workers, party cadres, office bearers, ex legislators and senior leaders have been the victims of this culture. The Home Minister should also count their sacrifices,” he said.
He also hoped that NC candidate for Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat Mian Altaf will emerge victorious with a huge margin with the support of other parties.
Mir on the occasion said this election is a direct contest between the INDIA block and NDA. “The people of J&K are politically mature. The people of Jammu are very angry with the BJP and we see both seats going to Congress,” he said.
Mir said the people will vote for the guarantees of the INDIA block and Rahul Gandhi, not to those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which he said will “expire” on June 4 – the day the results will be announced.
Meanwhile, Apni Party candidate Zaffar Manhas, along with a few Independent candidates, also submitted their nomination papers, adding further diversity to the electoral fray.
BJP is yet to announce its candidate, while the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), which had earlier announced its chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad as the candidate, has now fielded advocate Saleem Parray as the party candidate from this seat.
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