Ghulam Nabi Azad, who once had a stronghold in the Congress, today his party has started breaking up in its first election itself. Many leaders of Ghulam Nabi Azad's party Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) have already joined the Congress, and now DPAP's vice president Ghulam Mohammad Saruri has filed a nomination as an independent. Azad had refused to give Saruri a ticket, after which he has entered the fray as an independent.

Independent candidate filed nomination from Inderwal seat

DPAP vice-president Ghulam Mohammad Saroori on Tuesday filed his nomination as an independent candidate from the Inderwal seat in the Kishtwar district after the party denied him a ticket. He said he cannot ignore people's demand to contest the assembly elections. The former minister denied any differences with DPAP chief Ghulam Nabi Azad and said Azad will continue to be his leader.

what did Saroori say

Saroori told reporters in Kishtwar, "I have filed my nomination papers as an independent candidate from Inderwal assembly constituency. We have been working for the people of this area and will continue to do so. I worked on the decision of the people of Inderwal and could not ignore their demands. I have no differences with Azad. He is my leader. I have been forced by the people to contest from Inderwal. They have assured me that we will win this election. I contested in 2002, 2008, and 2014 and won every time due to the support of these people."

Bail has been confiscated

The DPAP on Sunday released its first list of 13 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections, but the names of Azad's loyalists Saroori and Jugal Kishore Sharma were missing from it. Saroori contested from the Kathua-Udhampur seat in the 2024 parliamentary elections but lost his deposit. Saroori was earlier associated with the Congress for a long time, but in August 2022, he resigned from the party along with Azad.