Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Ghulam Nabi Azad not to contest polls, says report

 Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) president Ghulam Nabi Azad has decided not to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, his party said. He has withdrawn his candidature from Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir.

Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chief Ghulam Nabi Azad has decided not to contest the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Earlier, the former Congress leader was nominated by the DPAP from the Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary constituency. Ghulam Nabi Azad made the announcement at a meet in Anantnag on Wednesday.

Following Azad's withdrawal, Mohammad Saleem Paray could be the party's candidate from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, sources added. 

Days after declaring he will run in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections to continue his campaign for Jammu and Kashmir's statehood restoration and the defense of its citizens' rights to employment and land, Azad has made a U-turn. The former Jammu and Kashmiri chief minister had stated that, although having a number of other motivations for running in the Lok Sabha elections, protecting the employment and land of the local populace was his main concern.

It should be mentioned that Azad founded the DPAP after leaving the Congress in 2022, terminating his five-decade affiliation with the party.

Azad, as a candidate of DPAP, was scheduled to take on former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP and National Conference's veteran leader Mian Altaf Ahmad, who is the INDIA bloc candidate.

The seven-phase Lok Sabha polls will kick off on April 19 with the counting of votes set to take place on June 4 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a bid for a third consecutive term in office. The elections will begin on April 19 followed by subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.