Anantnag, Apr 19: Advocate Mohammad Saleem Parray, the candidate for the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), filed his nominations for the Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary constituency on Friday morning.
Parray was accompanied by DPAP Chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad, DPAP’s Provincial President, Kashmir Mohammad Amin Bhat, and other party leaders and workers, all of whom were soaked by the downpour as they accompanied Parray to the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Anantnag to submit the nominations.
Azad told reporters that he respects every political party, whether they are younger or older than him. “I respect every candidate from all political parties and have instructed my party members not to criticise any political leader or candidate. Instead, I urged them to focus on their work going forward,” he said.
Our priority is to concentrate on our agenda, work for the welfare of the people not to indulge in squabble, he added.
About the party’s candidate, the former chief minister said, “We have nominated a young, educated candidate for the seat who is a professional advocate and an elected member of the District Development Council (DDC). Saleem Sahab has successfully transitioned within the DDC. We hope he will also succeed in the parliamentary phase.”
Azad said DPAP holds a strong position in the Udhampur seat. He., however, said the “biggest mistake” is that the Election Commission of India and the J&K administration schedule elections in April, a month prone to heavy rainfall, resulting in low voter turnout.
Responding to questions about opting out of the elections and allegations of being commended to do so, the DPAP chief said, “Ghulam Nabi Azad’s decisions are solely his own. Every party makes its own choices; some contest, while others do not. It is our party’s decision, and other parties choosing not to contest is their prerogative.”
Asked about the reason for opting out, Azad said, “When I left Delhi, I had expressed my commitment to serving the people here in Jammu and Kashmir. People reminded me of this and questioned the decision to return to parliament. After considering their voices, I decided to stay.”
Earlier, DPAP had announced that Chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad would contest the parliamentary elections in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat. However, he later decided to opt-out, leading the party to nominate Advocate Saleem for the seat.
