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| Farooq's sister reluctant to contest polls' | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
SRINAGAR, Nov 9: Amid speculation that former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah's estranged sister Khalida Shah will be pitted against him in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, the Awami National Conference on Sunday said she was "reluctant" to contest the coming elections.
"She (Khalida) is reluctant to contest the polls. We are trying to persuade her to join the fray but she has not yet conceded to our request," senior ANC leader and her son Muzaffar Shah said here.
Speculations were rife in the media that Khalida, the daughter of Sheikh Abdullah, would fight against Farooq in Ganderbal constituency. However, the National Conference patron decided to contest from Hazratbal seat in Srinagar, leaving Ganderbal to his son and party chief Omar Abdullah.
Muzaffar said her mother, however, will campaign along with her husband G M Shah for party candidates.
He also dismissed as "baseless" media reports of a meeting between Abdullahs and the Shah family. "Abdullah neither came to wish his brother-in-law (G M Shah) who underwent a major surgery recently, nor visited Khalida for persuading her not to contest against him," Muzaffar said adding, same is the case with Omar.
He said his party, a breakaway group of NC, would not "shake hands with National Conference unless the party changes its policy vis-a-vis Kashmir issue and accept it as a dispute, pending resolution".
Muzaffar said G M Shah is recovering fast and might join the fray. "He is the best person to lead the state."
The ANC, which is contesting assembly elections for the first time in the state, today released a list of 26 candidates fielding senior leader Muzaffar Shah from the key Amira Kadal constituency of Srinagar district.
The ANC has fielded candidates from Ganderbal and Gulmarg constituencies from where Omar Abdullah and his uncle Sheikh Mustafa Kamal are contesting elections.
However, the party has not yet announced any candidate from Hazratbal, where NC chief ministerial candidate Farooq Abdullah is seeking re-entry into the assembly after a gap of six years. Farooq did not contest the 2002 elections.
Releasing the list, General Secretary of the party Mir Mohammad Shafi said the second list of candidates was under process and would be made public very soon.
He said ANC would support an independent, Ajit Singh, from Nowshera constituency in Rajouri district.
Mir requested the Election Commission to retain the symbol "candles" allotted to the party as "any change will create confusion among the electorate at this eleventh hour".
The request to the CEC follows claim made by the Democratic Party (Nationalist) that the symbol of candles has been allotted to it by the EC in Ganderbal segment.
"In 95 per cent nominations filed by ANC candidates so far, we have been alloted the symbol of candles and sabotaged by vested interests in a few by laying false claim to it. We call upon the CEC to freeze the symbol candles in our favour to avoid confusion among the electorate," Mir said.
"Don't make election a drama. It was because of the National Conference that polls were forced on people, otherwise the situation is not conducive for polls," Muzaffar said. |
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