Srinagar: National Conference candidate for the bypoll to the Budgam Assembly segment, Aga Syed Mehmood, on Wednesday said it was for the estranged party member, Aga Ruhullah, to decide whether he would campaign for him.
“It is for him (Ruhullah) to decide whether he wants to join the campaign or not. He is a party man. He is my relative also, I cannot deny that. However, it is his choice whether he wants to campaign or not,” Mehmood told reporters while campaigning.
The polling for elections to the Budgam seat will be held on November 11, and counting of votes will be done on November 14.
Ruhullah, the National Conference Lok Sabha member from Srinagar, has been at loggerheads with the party leadership over the reservation policy as he sided with protesting students against the Omar Abdullah government last year.
The students were demanding a review of the quota system, which provides for only 30 per cent of seats for the general category candidates who account for nearly 70 per cent of the population.
Mehmood sought to clarify his earlier statement about Ruhullah, blaming the media for distorting his comments.
PTI
Ruhullah alone to decide if he wants to campaign for me: NC’s Aga Mehmood
