Advocate Syed Asim Hashmi Withdraws Candidacy from Doda West

 

Doda :  criminal lawyer and current DDC member Syed Asim Hashmi has withdrawn his independent candidacy from the 53-Doda West constituency, throwing his support behind the Congress candidate, Mr. Pradeep.

 

 

 

 

Hashmi, who had previously defeated BJP heavyweight Shakti Raj Parihar in the 2021 DDC elections by over 2,000 votes, had filed his nomination as an independent candidate after the NC-Congress alliance decided to allocate the Doda West seat to Congress.

 

 

 

 

Simultaneously, the mandate for the Doda West constituency, now a newly delineated seat with a Hindu-majority electorate, was allocated to the Congress, with Mr. Pradeep as the chosen candidate. Despite the decision, local voters in Doda West, who had been influenced by Hashmi’s personal appeal and previous electoral success, pressed him to contest as an independent candidate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After careful consideration, consultations with his supporters, and in alignment with his commitment to secularism, Hashmi decided to withdraw his candidacy. In a joint press conference, both Hashmi and Congress candidate Pradeep emphasized their shared ideology of fighting against communalism and working for the prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir.

During the press conference, Hashmi strongly criticized the revocation of Article 370, claiming it had severely impacted the development in J&K and taken away the rights of people of Jammu & Kashmir . He alleged the education system in Jammu and Kashmir has also been severely impacted. He said that there had been no recruitment of teachers for several years, leaving schools empty. He further accused those currently governing the region of deliberately pushing people below the poverty line, making them unemployed, and undermining their prosperity.

 

 

 

Hashmi called upon all leaders in the Chenab Valley to unite against what he described as cammunal forces and “sadistic people” who, according to him, take pleasure in seeing the happiness and development of the people eroded. He urged them to combat the systemic issues he believes are being perpetuated by a bureaucratic rule disconnected from the people.