After a possible pre-poll tie-up with the Apni Party of Altaf Bukhari, veteran political leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is likely to jump into the fray from the recently redrawn South Kashmir’s Anantnag Lok Sabha seat that is expected to witness a fierce electoral battle.

Bukhari, who the Apni Party leadership has authorised to work out electoral alliance with like-minded parties, is learnt to be in touch with Azad who has formed the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) after quitting the Congress.

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The two parties might contest all five Lok Sabha seats together in case the alliance talks mature, sources said.

Azad has already announced his trusted lieutenant GM Saroori as the DPAP candidate in Udhampur against Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Interestingly, the DPAP and the Apni Party have been nicknamed by a section of the Valley-based political leadership as the ‘B-teams of BJP’. However, both Azad and Bukhari have vehemently denied this.

Azad has been taking a keen interest in the politically volatile Anantnag. In the past few days, he addressed largely attended rallies in Kulgam, Kokernag, Shangus, Pulwama, Rajouri and other segments of the constituency. He did not rule out contesting the election from Anantnag while recently talking to reporters.

The recent delimitation has redrawn the Anantnag constituency with which Jammu division’s Poonch district and parts of the Rajouri have been merged. This has made the constituency tricky and created a culturally and linguistically diverse landscape and contrasting demography in the 18 segments.

The Anantnag constituency will go to polls in the third phase on 7 May, but no political party has yet announced its candidate for the seat.

Azad, who was mostly a member of the Rajya Sabha during the Congress regime, made his maiden bid in 2014 to enter the Lok Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir but lost to BJP’s Dr. Jitendra Singh in the Udhampur constituency. Dr. Jitendra Singh became Union Minister after winning the election. Azad was in the Lok Sabha in the 1980s from the Washim constituency of Maharashtra.

The only election that Azad has so far won in J&K was in 2006 when he contested as chief minister the by-election for the Bhaderwah assembly seat.

Anantnag, currently represented by the National Conference, is bound to witness a fierce contest. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti is interested in contesting from there. The BJP is also trying hard to make inroads in the constituency after the government recently granted Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and 10% reservation in jobs to the Pahari community of Rajouri and Poonch who are in the voters list in considerable numbers.

J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina and general secretary (organisation) Ashok Koul also addressed a series of rallies in Kashmir.