Srinagar : Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) Chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad described the recent statement by Jamaat-e-Islami about participating in elections as a positive development. He emphasized that anyone willing to serve the nation and the people by joining mainstream politics should be welcomed.
Azad noted that the expected increase in voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir did not materialize, although a slight increase was observed as usual. In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, he stated that the voter turnout in the three parliamentary seats in Jammu and Kashmir this time was better compared to 2014 and 2019, but the expected high turnout, especially in the Srinagar parliamentary seat, was not achieved.
Responding to a question, Azad said that political leaders claiming voter dissatisfaction in Srinagar should have expected a much higher turnout if that were true. He suggested that true anger of the public would have been revealed only when there would be an 80 to 90 percent voter turnout in the Srinagar parliamentary constituency.
Azad stressed the importance of assembly elections for any state, as they bring local governments that work for the state's development, benefiting the people directly. Jammu and Kashmir has been without an assembly for a long time, making the upcoming assembly elections crucial.
During the conversation, Azad highlighted that Jamaat-e-Islami had a significant role in mainstream politics in the past, with their own MLAs. However, they later adopted a boycott policy and stayed away from elections for decades, even without government restrictions. He welcomed their recent willingness to participate in elections, saying that any party, regardless of religion or sect, should be allowed to join mainstream politics if they aim to serve the nation and its people.
In response to a question, Azad mentioned that his party fielded only candidates in two out of the three parliamentary seats in Kashmir, and decided to support Engineer Rashid of the Awami Ittehad Party, who is contesting from jail, for the Baramulla seat.
Azad also mentioned that the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) is a new party and chose to contest only three out of five seats in Jammu and Kashmir. He added that if they had not received their election symbol in time, they might not have participated in the parliamentary elections.
Azad expressed his satisfaction with introducing two new candidates in Kashmir who have no affiliation with any party or family politics. He stated that in the upcoming assembly elections, DPAP would prioritize candidates with fresh perspectives who are new to politics and unconnected to family political legacies.
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