Ganderbal (Jammu and Kashmir) [India]: Ahead of the second and third phases of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Democratic Progressive Azad Party Chief Ghulam Nabi Azad called leaders of political parties his competitors, adding that he does not consider them enemies.
“The political parties are not my enemies; they are our competitors. Like in class, we are all good friends but there is a competition…So I take every political party and leader as my competitor,” Democratic Progressive Azad Party Chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad said while doing a roadshow in Ganderbal in view of the Assembly elections in Union Territory.
Speaking to media persons, he further said, “When I made the party (DPAP) and had my first party meeting, I said that I fought bravely for Article 370 and statehood…Nobody in the Parliament knew until I said that Article 35A was a pre-independence thing…”
Jammu and Kashmir is voting for its 90-member assembly in three phases. The first phase of voting took place on September 18.
Notably, a voter turnout of 61.13 pc was registered in the first phase of polling in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, which were held in 24 constituencies in seven districts on September 18.
Earlier, Farooq Abdullah referenced Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s remarks in the Rajya Sabha, which compared Jammu and Kashmir’s development to that of Gujarat, emphasizing that significant progress was made while Article 370 was in effect.
“When Ghulam Nabi Azad compared two states in the Rajya Sabha the numbers showed that J&K was much above Gujarat…The governments here did it and they did it when Article 370 was in effect. We made progress. But what development did they give us in these years? Were prices reduced, and unemployment reduced?…Don’t wait till the last bullet is off. Take the bull by the horns. I want to ask the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Did they remove terrorism?” Abdullah said.
Voting for the second and third phases in J-K will be held on September 25 and October 1, respectively. Votes will be counted on October 8.