The Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari will explore the possibility of a tie-up with like-minded political parties to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Bukhari was on Monday unanimously authorised by the party leadership to decide on a possible alliance with other parties to contest the five Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir.

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The Apni Party held an extraordinary meeting to discuss the present political scenario in Jammu and Kashmir and formulate the strategy for the upcoming parliamentary elections. On the occasion, the feedback from all the parliamentary constituencies was thoroughly discussed.

Party leaders shared their perspectives and ideas regarding the various aspects of the elections, a party spokesman said.

Besides Bukhari, other prominent leaders present in the meeting were; Senior Vice President Ghulam Hassan Mir, Parliamentary Committee Chairman Mohammad Dilawar Mir, Vice President Usman Majid, General Secretary Rafi Ahmad Mir and Srinagar’s Former Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu.

The Apni Party has so far not announced any candidate for any of the five parliamentary seats. The party leaders had earlier said that they would contest all seats.

Meanwhile, the electoral scene in the Union Territory (UT) has not yet been cleared as no political party has so far announced its candidates for all five seats. The BJP has so far declared only two candidates, Dr. Jitendra Singh for Udhampur and Jugal Kishore for Jammu. The party has not announced candidates for the three seats of the Kashmir Valley.

Congress, which is leading the INDIA bloc, is yet to announce its candidates as a tug of war is going on between the other constituents on the issue of seat sharing. National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah was adamant against sparing any of the three seats of Kashmir for PDP or Congress.

DPAP chief Ghulam Nabi Azad has declared his trusted lieutenant GM Saroori party’s candidate against BJP nominee and union minister Dr. Jitendra Singh in Udhampur. The Peoples Conference has already fielded its chief, Sajad Lone on the Baramulla seat of North Kashmir.