Mehbooba Mufti in race of LS election from Anantnag-Rajouri against Azad, Mian Altaf

Fayaz Mir to contest election from Baramulla, Para from Srinagar

SRINAGAR: The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday announced the names of the candidates who will fight on three seats of Kashmir in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In a press briefing in Srinagar, senior Chairman of the party's parliamentary board Sartaj Madni stated that the PDP President Mehbooba Mufti will contest from Anantnag-Rajouri seat; Fayaz Mir from Baramulla and Waheed Para from Srinagar constituency.
Mehbooba Mufti who won the Member of Parliament elections from Anantnag in 2004 and 2014 is now in a fight with National Conference’s Mian Altaf and DPAP chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency.
Mehbooba had lost to NC’s Hasnain Masoodi in the 2019 parliament elections on the Anantnag seat.
After the announcement, Mehbooba said, “We have decided to support Congress on two Jammu seats”.
Adding that she said that the reason why we are supporting the INDIA alliance and the reason is that the country is going through so many things: democracy is blown up, minorities are being oppressed, and there is a rise in unemployment. Our concern was to go with the party that could make the right decisions, keeping in mind the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
I have said earlier that the decision taken by the National Conference has hurt us as we wanted everyone to keep together and I tried it. The National Conference did not take us into consideration and announced the candidates instead.
This gave us no choice but to fight on all three seats in Kashmir because our workers were demoralized and de-motivated after Omar Abdullah said that we wouldn’t field any candidate against the National Conference. Mufti emphasized the relentless onslaught faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that their identity, rights, and dignity have come under severe attack, particularly in the past five years under the BJP.
Mufti underscored the need for democratic resistance, urging the populace to voice their grievances and stand united against oppression fearlessly.
She expressed her steadfast commitment to representing the aspirations of her people despite facing personal and political targeting.
Advocating for a unified electoral response across all sections of society and geography in Jammu and Kashmir, Mufti called for sending fearless representatives to Parliament to echo the sentiments and pains of the region on a national platform.
In her appeal for solidarity, Mufti emphasized the inclusive nature of the people’s response, calling on people from all religious and ethnic backgrounds to unite for the collective cause of Jammu and Kashmir's identity and dignity. She appealed to the carder of other parties Like the National Conference and Congress to support her endeavor to strengthen the region's voice against ongoing oppression.
Mufti highlighted the Party’s candidate for central Kashmir Waheed ur Rehman Parra as a personification of the generation experiencing persecution and pressure under the current BJP dispensation in Jammu and Kashmir. She stressed the importance of supporting candidates like Parra, who embody the struggles and endurance of the youth amidst challenging times.
People's Democratic Party (PDP) youth president Waheed ur Rehman Parra said, “It is the PDP that has suffered a lot since the abrogation of Article 370 as 40 people from our party were broken”.
Adding that he said, “There is definitely a competition and I said this election is not about forming a government but giving a voice to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and we will try our best so that people come out for voting”.