The National Conference on Monday fielded veteran Gujjar leader Mian Altaf from the all-important south Kashmir seat, ending chances of a patch-up with INDIA partner Peoples Democratic Party for seat sharing.
It is the first nomination by any of the three major players — NC, PDP and BJP — for south Kashmir, which had spearheaded the pro-Azaadi resistance against Delhi for years until the scrapping of the special status in 2019.
The BJP is looking to open its Kashmir account through south Kashmir. All three parties are yet to announce their candidates for central and north Kashmir but the BJP is a minor player in these seats.
The PDP, which was favouring a seat-sharing agreement with the NC, wanted to contest the south Kashmir (Anantnag Rajouri) seat and leave the north (Baramulla) and central (Srinagar) seats to the NC.
However, the NC refused to budge and announced that it would contest all three seats because it had won them in the 2019 general election. The PDP is believed to have sought the Congress’s intervention but it failed to cut ice with the NC.
A PDP source said they had hoped good sense would prevail and they would put up a united front against the BJP and its “secret allies” in Kashmir.
“The NC has left us with no choice but to contest all three seats. We are planning to field our president Mehbooba Mufti from south Kashmir, our bastion,” a leader said.
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday announced the candidature of Altaf, a top political and religious leader of the Gujjars, shifting him from his home turf Ganderbal in central Kashmir to south with an eye on significant Gujjar votes in Rajouri-Poonch districts.
