Jammu, Nov 07: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and state Congress chief Ghulam Nabi Azad would be contesting for Rajya Sabha elections from the state. Abdullah and Azad will file their nominations tomorrow for the first two vacancies from the state.
"I am filing the nomination for the Rajya Sabha," the former chief minister told reporters here.
The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee told that he would file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha seat tomorrow while the name of the second Congress candidate would be finalised by party president Sonia Gandhi tonight. Dismissing reports that he would be joining the Union government, Abdullah said "my first base is the state" and in the Rajya Sabha, "I will raise the problems of the state."
Abdullah's name had started doing rounds for Rajya Sabha even before his party National Conference suffered a defeat in the last month's assembly elections.
Azad said if Abdullah was filing his nominations, the Congress would not come in his way keeping in view his "political experience." Azad was elected to Rajya Sabha from the state last time with the support of National Conference.
The aspirants for other two Rajya Sabha seats in the state were former union minister Saif-ud-din Soz (Congress), Bhim Singh (Panthers' Party) and editor of a local daily Ved Bhasin with the support of PDP. Bureau Report