Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 9: In a move aimed at consolidating votes ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, the Apni Party today announced its support for independent candidate and two-time Minister, Taj Mohiudin, in the Uri Assembly segment.
At a press conference, Apni Party President and former Minister, Altaf Bukhari, stated that the decision to back Taj was made in the interest of the people of Uri, emphasizing the importance of uniting efforts.
“He (Taj) is our senior leader and has served as a Minister twice. We have decided to fully support him. This decision is for the people of Uri, with no personal interests involved-neither mine nor his,” Bukhari said.
He informed that the party will continue to support independent candidates where they believe it will lead to consolidation, noting that “no one is vying for a kingdom in these elections; everyone simply wants to ensure that the people have an elected Government.”
Earlier, the PDP had also offered support to Taj Mohiudin, though he chose a different path. Expressing his gratitude, Taj, who was earlier a part of Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) until he resigned last month, said that Apni Party support is aimed at consolidating votes and demonstrating unity.
The Apni Party President stressed that these elections are critical, taking place at a time when “we have lost everything.”
He accused the Central Government of trying to weaken the next Government in J&K, but expressed confidence that experienced leaders could restore power. “Delhi cannot decide everything on its own. They must respect the people’s mandate,” he asserted.
On PDP President Mehbooba Mufti’s recent comments accusing the AIP of being a BJP proxy, Bukhari remarked: “Mehbooba changes her stance frequently. If left to her, she might even call her own PDP a proxy. She has grown in the lap of the BJP.”
However, Bukhari was quick to clarify that JKAP does not wish to add bitterness to the election process, stating: “If people talk about A and B teams, then the A team is NC, the B team is PDP, and we (Apni Party) will fall in A-minus.”
One of the questions from the media asked Taj Mohiudin for his thoughts on the large number of independent candidates contesting the election. This irked senior JKAP leader Ghulam Hassan Mir, who accused the media of harbouring unnecessary suspicion.
“Why is everything viewed with skepticism? Participation in elections is a positive sign. The more people involved, the better the process. The time has passed when certain parties sought to exclude competition,” Mir said.
In the meantime, the PDP withdrew its support to Taj and are fielding their own candidate in the assembly segment.
The PDP states that it will now field their own candidate from Uri constituency. It said that they are ideologically apart from the Apni Party.
“In view of the Apni party extending support to Taj Mohuddin in Uri constituency, PDP has decided to withdraw its support to him and put out the party’s own candidate,” PDP wrote in a post on X.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
