Ghulam Nabi Azad opts out of contest from prestigious Anantnag LS seat
This would have been the first election from his own party that Azad would have fought after quitting the Congress.
This would have been the first election from his own party that Azad would have fought after quitting the Congress.
Omar and Azad exchanged barbs as both are currently campaigning in the Chenab Valley region consisting of the Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts of the Jammu division.
Azad said that while he had several reasons for contesting the Lok Sabha elections, safeguarding the jobs and land of the people of Jammu and Kashmir was his top priority.
Candidature of Azad was announced on Tuesday by a senior DPAP leader, Taj Mohiuddin in Srinagar.
Azad has already announced his trusted lieutenant GM Saroori as the DPAP candidate in Udhampur against Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh.
Following the resignation of veteran congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Five former Congress MLAs from Jammu & Kashmir legislators also resigned from the party. All five were close associates with veterans.
In a hard-hitting five-page letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, he squarely blamed her son and senior leader Rahul Gandhi for the party's terminal decline, saying all important decisions were being taken by Rahul or his security guards and PAs while she was just a nominal figurehead.
National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Friday said Ghulam Nabi Azad must have resigned from the Congress as he must not be getting respect and love from the party and added that the country needs a stronger opposition.
Reacting to the resignation of senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad from all the positions of the party, Jairam Ramesh, AICC general secretary termed the resignation as "unfortunate".
Azad's resignation comes after some of the senior leaders from the party, including Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jaiveer Shergil, Jitin Prasada also took an exit from the grand old party.
