NEW DELHI: Ajaz Guru, brother of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, has filed his nomination to contest the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections as an Independent candidate.
He will be contesting from Sopore in the north Kashmir district.
Ajaz Guru, who lives in Baramulla’s Delina area, filed a nomination on the last day of submitting the papers.
After filing his papers, Ajaz Guru told reporters that he entered the electoral fray as, like all Kashmiris, he was also a victim of “35 years of hardships”, reported news agency PTI.
The nomination papers will be scrutinised on Friday while the last date to withdraw the papers is September 17. Sopore will go to the polls in the third phase of the elections on October 1.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Aijaz said his son’s arrest was a key reason for him to enter the fray.
His son, Shoaib Ajaz Guru, was arrested by Baramulla police in Dec 2023 on drug peddling charges under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PIT-NDPS Act), and is lodged in Jammu’s Kot-Bhalwal jail.
Ajaz, who works as a contractor, alleged the case against his son was “fabricated”, and vowed to fight for those similarly arrested under questionable circumstances.
Claiming that Sopore had been “neglected by previous leaders”, he said he was committed to addressing long standing local issues such as employment, infrastructure development and rehabilitation of youth. Aijaz said he would file his nomination papers on Thursday.
He, however, clarified he would not invoke his brother Afzal Guru’s name in his campaign. “I won’t seek votes in the name of my brother. My ideology is entirely different, and I believe the people of Kashmir, especially Sopore, have been betrayed by political leaders,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir will go for assembly polls in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. Votes will be counted on October 8. These are the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370.
He will be contesting from Sopore in the north Kashmir district.
Ajaz Guru, who lives in Baramulla’s Delina area, filed a nomination on the last day of submitting the papers.
After filing his papers, Ajaz Guru told reporters that he entered the electoral fray as, like all Kashmiris, he was also a victim of “35 years of hardships”, reported news agency PTI.
The nomination papers will be scrutinised on Friday while the last date to withdraw the papers is September 17. Sopore will go to the polls in the third phase of the elections on October 1.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Aijaz said his son’s arrest was a key reason for him to enter the fray.
His son, Shoaib Ajaz Guru, was arrested by Baramulla police in Dec 2023 on drug peddling charges under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PIT-NDPS Act), and is lodged in Jammu’s Kot-Bhalwal jail.
Ajaz, who works as a contractor, alleged the case against his son was “fabricated”, and vowed to fight for those similarly arrested under questionable circumstances.
Claiming that Sopore had been “neglected by previous leaders”, he said he was committed to addressing long standing local issues such as employment, infrastructure development and rehabilitation of youth. Aijaz said he would file his nomination papers on Thursday.
He, however, clarified he would not invoke his brother Afzal Guru’s name in his campaign. “I won’t seek votes in the name of my brother. My ideology is entirely different, and I believe the people of Kashmir, especially Sopore, have been betrayed by political leaders,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir will go for assembly polls in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. Votes will be counted on October 8. These are the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370.
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