news details |
|
|
| Azad resigns as Bhaderwah MLA, Niaz set to contest on vacant seat | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 21: After being sworn in as Member of the Rajya Sabha senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has resigned as member of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
Azad submitted his resignation on February 19 to pro-tem speaker of J&K assembly Choudhary Mohammad Aslam, who has accepted it, secretary of the house M Ramzan said today.
Azad, who became an MLA from Bhaderwah segment in Doda district for a second straight term in polls late last year, was elected in biennial elections to Rajya Sabha uncontested on February 6.
He was the only MLA in the entire state to defeat his nearest rival by a margin as high as nearly 30,000 votes in 2008 assembly elections.
Meanwhile, former chief minister and president of National Conference (NC) Farooq Abdullah, who too has been elected in recent biennial elections to Rajya Sabha, has not yet quit his assembly seat of Sonawar constituency, Ramzan said.
Abdullah had won two assembly seats of Hazratbal and Sonawar. He had later resigned from Hazratbal segment.
J&K assembly has a total strength of 89 members with 87 elected and two nominated. The effective strength after Azad and Abdullah's resignation is 87 and would be 86 after the NC president quits his second assembly seat.
Meanwhile, former minister and close kin Azad, Mohammad Sharief Niaz is all set to contest by elections from Bhaderwah assembly seat which was earlier vacated by him for Azad after he became Chief Minister of the state.
Though the congress party has not made any formal announcement in this regard but it looks almost certain that the state unit of the party would clear name of Niaz as congress candidate.
Niaz who was rehabilitated in the upper house is also keen to contest Assembly polls in order to carry forward the good work done by the Azad in his home constituency.
It was not clear as yet whether Mohd Aslam Goni, political advisor to NC Chief Dr Farooq Abdullah, who unsucesssfully contested against Azad in recently concluded Assembly polls, would once again join the fray.
It may be mentioned that as chief minister when Azad contested the Bhaderwah Assembly seat only BJP candidate contested election against Azad and National conference had not fielded any canddiate against him. Now with both the parties running a coalition government in the state it remains to be seen whether Bhaderwah assembly seat would witness a friendly contest or congress candidate would enjoy cake walk on the seat
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
