J&K leader Engineer Rashid to contest from Baramulla

Srinagar: Former lawmaker and firebrand leader of regional Awami Itehad Party (AIP) Engineer Rashid on Friday announced that he will fight the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from home constituency Baramulla.

The party, he said, will contest also on the Anantnag, Udhampur and Jammu seats and decide soon on the remaining two seats of the State-Srinagar and Ladakh. Mr Rasheed claimed that he was approached by several political parties to seek AIP’s support in the elections but no understanding could be reached with any one of these. “The main reason for that is that none of these parties was ready to support the AIP’s stand on various crucial issues,” he told reporters here. Without naming them, he said that the AIP could not support any of these parties “as they are responsible for most of the miseries of the people of the State.

He said that keeping all circumstances in view the party has decided to field Abdul  Rayees Rather from Udhampur, Shahzad Shabnum Deewan from Jammu and Zubair Masoodi from Anantnag where he himself will contest on Baramulla seat. “The party will take the decision on the remaining two seats — Srinagar and Ladakh- soon,” he said.

Meanwhile, National Conference (NC) president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Friday started campaigning for the Congress candidates Vikramaditya Singh and Raman Bhalla for the Udhampur and Jammu Lok Sabha seats, respectively.

Mr. Singh is the grandson of senior Congress leader Dr. Karan Singh whereas Mr. Bhalla is a former minister in the State.

Defending the NC’s pre-poll alliance with the Congress, Mr. Abdullahsaid, “We’ve given this sacrifice for one aim - to keep India a secular country and also keep it strong”. He added, “There is no other goal. We have come together to bring the country out of this quagmire and save it from divisive politics”.