In a major blow to the unity of the Opposition INDIA bloc in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference (NC) on Monday announced a veteran religious and Gujjar leader Mian Altaf as the party’s candidate for the prestigious Anantnag Lok Sabha seat for which the PDP had also staked its claim.

The announcement of Mian Altaf’s candidature was made by the NC vice-president Omar Abdullah. He was a minister in the NC government and has been a third-generation MLA from the Kangan constituency of Kashmir. Mian Altaf and his father Mian Bashir Ahmed never lost an assembly election.

Expressing pleasure over his candidature, Omar Abdullah cited Mian Altaf Ahmed’s popularity across various segments of society and was confident that he would garner substantial support from the people.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had shown interest in contesting the Lok Sabha election from Anantnag which she represented in 2014.

Reacting to the NC’s unilateral move, a former minister and senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar said, “We always stood for unity among the INDIA bloc parties, but they (NC) have broken it. Now, we are free to decide our course of action and we are in the process of consultation on the issue. We will soon announce the party’s decision”.

The NC and the PDP are not only constituents of the INDIA but were also partners of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) that was set up for the restoration of the special status of J&K.

Mian Altaf was present when Omar made the announcement of his candidature. Among the three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley, the NC has announced the name of Mian Altaf as its first candidate.

Polling for the Anantnag seat will be held in the third phase on 7 May.

The nomination of Mian Altaf, whose family has a long political standing, is expected to make the campaign interesting. He enjoys considerable following among the Gujjar, Bakerwal, and Pahari communities that dominate the constituency that has now been reshaped following the recent delimitation.

His grandfather, Mian Nizam-ud-Din, won the first Assembly election in 1952 and remained an NC MLA till 1967 whereas Mian Bashir (Mian Altaf’s father) represented the Kangan constituency from 1967 to 1987. Thereafter, Mian Altaf stepped into politics and remained MLA and minister.

Meanwhile, the PDP leadership in South Kashmir started mobilizing people for the election. Former minister Zahoor Ahmad Mir held a party workers meeting at Laribal Kakapora where he asked the activists to begin a door-to-door campaign for the victory of the PDP candidate for the Anantnag seat.

Mehbooba’s trusted lieutenant and president of PDP’s Youth Wing, Waheed Para, discussed the strategy for the party’s campaign with leaders of the Pulwama and Shopian districts which are also segments of the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat.