Lok Sabha polls 2024: Mehbooba to contest against Azad, NC from Anantnag

Srinagar: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, will contest the Lok Sabha election from the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency, where she previously won twice in 2004 and 2014.

She will face a direct contest with former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, influential Gujjar leader Mian Altaf of the National Conference (NC), and an as-yet-unannounced candidate of the BJP.

Seeking to regain ground in the Kashmir valley, the beleaguered PDP has nominated strong candidates for three Lok Sabha seats, including Mehbooba.

Mehbooba's trusted lieutenant, Waheed Para—a dynamic young leader who has emerged as a prominent voice for the region's youth in recent years—has been nominated to contest from the Srinagar-Pulwama constituency, while Fayaz Mir, who recently rejoined the PDP, will contest from north Kashmir's Baramulla-Kupwara segment.

The PDP's decision was made in response to the NC's similar move to contest all three seats in Kashmir independently, officially signalling the end of the Congress-led I.N.D.I.A. alliance.

In the 2019 elections, the NC secured victory in all three seats in Kashmir. During I.N.D.I.A. bloc meetings, it was proposed that the NC would contest the Srinagar and Baramulla seats, leaving the Anantnag seat for the PDP.

However, the NC opted not to concede any seat, which disappointed Mehbooba and left her with "no option" but to contest all three seats. "They (NC) have left us no choice but to field candidates and contest the elections," Mehbooba stated last week.

Notably, the BJP is yet to announce its candidates for Lok Sabha seats in the valley, while the Congress is deliberating whether to support NC or PDP candidates in Kashmir. Both the NC and PDP have already announced their support for Congress candidates on two Lok Sabha seats in Jammu.

The Anantnag-Rajouri seat will go to polls in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 7.