SRINAGAR — Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) candidate for the Pulwama assembly segment in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday joined the National Conference, a day after his party extended support to a former Jamaat-e-Islami member contesting from the seat.
AIP led by Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer had on Sunday announced an alliance with former members of the Jamaat, stating that AIP would support JEI-backed candidates in Kulgam and Pulwama while JEI will throw its support behind AIP candidates across Kashmir.
Iqbal Sofi, who was the AIP candidate for the Pulwama assembly seat, joined the National Conference in the presence of former chief minister Omar Abdullah.
Sofi said he was the candidate for Rashid’s party in Pulwama but the Lok Sabha member formed an alliance with Jamaat and extended support to their candidate.
“The polling will be held on Wednesday, so I cannot withdraw from the contest but I appeal to people to support the National Conference candidate now,” he said.
Former leader of Jamaat Talat Majid Alie is contesting the polls from Pulwama as an independent candidate as his parent organisation has been banned by the Union Home Ministry since 2019.
Alie is expected to give a tough fight to three-time MLA Mohammad Khalil Bandh, who is contesting on the NC ticket, and PDP youth president Waheed Para.
Bandh had won the Pulwama seat in 2002, 2008 and 2014 as the PDP candidate but switched to the National Conference after the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition government in 2018. — (PTI)