Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 24: PDP today decided to field senior leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig from Baramaulla constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
According to a party spokesperson, the announcement was made by president Mehbooba Mufti after consultations with the members of the Political Affairs Committee, party Legislators from the constituency and other senior leaders.
This is the fifth seat for which the party has announced its candidate so far, the spokesman said.
Mehbooba Mufti would fight from Anantnag while Yashpal Sharma will contest from Jammu-Poonch-Rajouri constituency. Former Minister Tariq Hameed Karra has been given the party mandate from Srinagar and Arshad Malik from Doda-Udhampur-Kathua constituency.
The announcement for Ladakh constituency will be made soon, the spokesman said.
Baig, a celebrity lawyer, highly respected for his legal acumen and an authority on constitutional matters and corporate law, has served as the Deputy Chief Minister of the State in the previous PDP-Congress coalition.
Having also served as Minister for Finance and Planning, Baig oversaw a number of financial and economic initiatives that culminated in game changing programmes like the Prime Minister’s economic package and the Asian Development funding for reconstruction of core infrastructure in the State.
He introduced zero budgeting, abolished toll tax on fruit and was instrumental in setting up the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) for implementation of the ADB-funded projects.
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