NC names Mian Altaf from South Kashmir seat, signals end of Gupkar Alliance

Srinagar, April 1:The long-simmering fissures within the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) came to a head today as the National Conference (NC) announced its candidate for the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency, effectively ending its association with the conglomerate.
In a significant political development, NC Vice President Omar Abdullah declared senior leader Mian Altaf Ahmad Larvi as the party’s nominee for the crucial parliamentary seat, which had remained a bone of contention between the PAGD allies.

However, as the multiple deliberations and efforts by both INDI Alliance and PAGD members have failed, NC’s Vice President Omar Abdullah has made an announcement on behalf of his father and NC President Omar Abdullah, saying that the party has chosen Mian Altaf to fight from the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat.
“Mian Sahab is the best candidate for the constituency,” Omar said while making the announcement. He was flanked by Party General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, State Secretary Chowdhary Ramzan, Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani, and Chief Spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq.
According to a post on X by NC, Omar Abdullah emphasised Mian Altaf Ahmed’s widespread popularity across various segments of society and expressed confidence that he would garner substantial support from the people.
It is worth mentioning here that Morning Kashmir had already published a report in which it was mentioned that the party is going to field Mian Altaf Ahmad Larvi as its candidate from the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency.
Mian Altaf has become the second candidate announced from the three seats of the Kashmir division. Earlier, only the People’s Conference (PC) had announced Sajad Gani Lone as its candidate from the north Kashmir seat and NC has announced to field Mian Altaf as its candidate from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat.
Pertinently, NC won the parliamentary elections from the constituency in 2019. The party had fielded Justice (Retired) Hasnain Masoodi as the candidate for the particular constituency.