Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Cracks in INDIA bloc in J&K? NC fields Mian Altaf from PDP bastion Anantnag-Rajouri
Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat is the home constituency of Mehbooba Mufti, whose party is a partner in opposition INDIA bloc as is Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference. Both Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti attended the INDIA bloc show-of-strength ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally in New Delhi on March 31. Lahrvi’s candidature was announced by NC vice president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on April 1, a day after the New Delhi rally.
Follow Live Updates on Lok Sabha Election 2024 Here Mehbooba Mufti won the seat in 2014 while her father and PDP founder late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has also represented the seat in the Lok Sabha. In 2019, the seat was won by NC’s Hasnain Masoodi. Mehbooba Mufti had finished third.
In fact all three seats of Kashmir division were won by the NC in 2019. The two seats in Jammu division and the lone seat in Ladakh was won by the BJP. Lahrvi is a five-time former MLA who has also been a Cabinet minister in the previous NC governments.
The National Conference has been publicly insisting on contesting on all three seats in Kashmir while PDP wanted to field its candidate from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat. Both the parties have declared to contest the Lok Sabha polls on their own. Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Jawaharlal Nehru made ‘two blunders’ in J&K, says Amit Shah Earlier knows an Anantnag, the seat was rechristened as Anantnag-Rajouri after Poonch and Rajouri districts were also included in it in the 2022 delimitation.
While the Anantnag region is South Kashmir is dominated by Muslims Poonch and Rajouri districts have a sizeable Gujjar and Pahari population. Lahrvi is a prominent Gujjar religious leader. Post delamination, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying
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