Srinagar- As assembly elections gain momentum in Jammu and Kashmir, a wave of nominations and candidate announcements has stirred the political arena, with some party members breaking ranks to launch independent bids.
Expressing displeasure over the party’s decision, two leaders from National Conference (NC) have decided to contest the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir as independent candidates.
The duo include Shabir Ahmad Kullay from Shopian and Dr Ghulam Nabi Bhat from Tral.
Shabir Ahmad Kullay said that after fighting the last election as an independent candidate, NC approached him and promised that he will be given a party ticket for the next elections.
During the recent parliamentary elections, he parted ways from NC but at that time again, he got a promise of a mandate and thus rejoined the party, he said.
However, he added that since the party couldn’t stick to its promise, he has decided to fight elections as an independent candidate.
“I have decided to contest as an independent candidate and filed my nomination papers,” he said.
In the 2014 assembly elections, Shabir Kulay, who fought as an independent candidate secured around 12,000 votes while the NC candidate Rafi Ahmad got approximately 5,000 votes.
Meanwhile, the political analysts believe that Shabir Kullay’s fighting elections as independent could potentially benefit other parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
NC Constituency Incharge Tral, Dr Ghulam Nabi Bhat said that he will fight elections as an independent candidate but added that he is not going to resign from the party.
“This is our party as we have given so many sacrifices for it but will fight elections against the decision of the party,” he said.
Similarly, Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) vice president Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, who was denied ticket by the party, on Tuesday filed his nomination as an independent candidate from Inderwal seat in Kishtwar district and said he could not ignore the people’s demand to contest the assembly elections.
The former minister, however, ruled out any differences with DPAP chief Ghulam Nabi Azad, affirming that Azad would remain his leader.
While the DPAP released its first list of 13 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections on Sunday, the names of Azad’s loyalists, Saroori and Jugal Kishore Sharma, were missing.
“I have filed nomination papers as an independent candidate from the Inderwal constituency. We have been working for the people of this region and will continue to do so. I acted on the decision of the people of Inderwal and could not ignore their demand,” Saroori told reporters in Kishtwar.
Saroori, who has represented the Inderwal seat for four terms, emphasized that he had no differences with the party or its leader over the denial of the ticket.
“I have no differences with Azad. He is my leader. I was compelled by the people to contest elections from Inderwal. They have assured me that we will win this election. I contested elections in 2002, 2008, and 2014 and won each time, thanks to the support of these people,” he said.
The DPAP leader said the people of the constituency urged him to contest as an independent candidate. “I am ready to contest. The mandate belongs to the people, not anyone else,” he said.
Saroori lost his deposit in the 2024 parliamentary elections from Kathua-Udhampur seat, which was won for the third time by Union Minister Jitendra Singh.
He served as a three-time MLA from the Inderwal constituency from 2002 to 2018. In 2008, he was appointed as the minister of state for tourism, forests, school education, social welfare, and consumer affairs & public distribution.
Saroori was previously associated with the Congress for a long time but resigned along with Azad in August 2022.
When asked if he intends to resign from DPAP, he said, “Azad is my leader and will continue to remain my leader.”
Saroori emphasized that his focus will be on ensuring employment for uneducated youth, eradicating the menace of drug addiction, and ensuring peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.
A prominent BJP youth leader quit the party on Tuesday and filed nomination papers as an independent candidate from Kishtwar’s Padder-Nagseni seat where the BJP has fielded its General Secretary and former state minister Sunil Sharma.
He accused Sharma, a former MLA from the Kishtwar constituency, of shifting to the safer seat to maintain his upmanship in the district, and making it easy for the National Conference leader former minister Sajjad Ahmad Kitchloo to win the seats without a real fight.
Padder-Nagseni and Kishtwar are among the 24 constituencies spread across south Kashmir and Chenab valley which are going to polls in the first of the three-phased elections on September 18. Tuesday was the final day for filing of nomination papers.
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