Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti will chair a meeting on Wednesday here to finalise the party’s candidates for the upcoming LokSabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
A PDP member said Mehbooba flew to Jammu Monday to meet leaders of two parliamentary constituencies—Jammu-Poonch and Doda-Kathua-Udhampur—to seek their opinion on the candidature for the two Jammu seats. Mehbooba met several leaders from Pirpanjal and Chenab Valley regions and is scheduled to hold deliberations with party members from other areas on Tuesday, a PDP member said.
While the party has announced former employees’ union leader Abdul QayoomWani its candidate for the BaramullaLokSabha seat, the party’s chief spokesperson Muhammad Rafi Mir said candidates for the remaining seats will be finalised at a meeting, to be chaired by Mehbooba, on March 20.
According to a party leader, at least three leaders including A R Veeri and Mehboob Beg are among probables for the southern Anantnag seat.
“There is also an opinion that Mehbooba should herself contest the election from southern Kashmir,” he said.
The restive southern Kashmir seat was last held by Mehbooba before she returned to state in 2016 and later went on to become the Chief Minister. However, the Election Commission of India couldn’t hold the by-polls to the seat owing to “unfavorable security scenario” in the constituency which is spread over four districts.
For Srinagar-Budgam constituency, the party member said, four names have been shortlisted, including GN Lone and Nazir Ahmad Khan.
The seat is presently held by National Conference president Farooq Abdullah who had defeated PDP’s Khan in the by-polls held in 2016.
The party is also indecisive on candidature for the Ladakh seat.
Though some reports had suggested that the PDP was willing to support Congress for two Jammu seats, party leader FirdousTak dismissed them as “speculative”.
He said during Monday’s meeting, several party members told the president that the party shouldn’t “barter” its mandate with any party including the Congress “in the name of keeping communal forces out”.