National Conference nominates prominent tribal leader Mian Altaf for Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat in J&K
National Conference on Monday nominated its prominent tribal leader Mian Altaf as a candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Anantnag-Rajouri constituency spread across the Pir Panchal region.
Altaf hails from Wangath area of Ganderbal in central Kashmir and his family has political and spiritual influence on the tribal community across J&K. His family has won nine assembly elections since 1967 which included his five assembly election wins since 1987. He also has close family relations with some influential tribal families in Rajouri, which fall in the same constituency.
The announcement of the NC candidate has made the contest on this Lok Sabha seat interesting as the party’s opposition INDIA bloc partner People’s Democratic Party is likely to field party president Mehbooba Mufti from the same constituency. She has won this seat in 2004 and 2014, before the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and completion of delimitation exercise in 2022.
After the delimitation exercise, when Rajouri and Poonch areas across the Pirpanchal mountains were added to Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in southern Kashmir, BJP aims to make inroads in the electoral map of the Valley. They also announced reservation to the Pahari community to attract voters in the tribal belt of this constituency. The BJP will either field its own candidate or might support some other candidate informally.
“With the permission of the NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah I am announcing the name of Mian Altaf as the candidate from NC for
