Hyderabad, April 4 -- Veteran leader GhulamNabi Azad has surprised among others himself when his party announced his candidature from the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat, one of the most critical and challenging constituencies not only in Jammu and Kashmir but also in the country. This is a big plunge given the geographical spread straddling on north and south of Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas, where the demography of various ethnicities is politically as divided as two regions - Kashmir Valley and Jammu region.

The physical and demographic features of this constituency that straddles betweenJammu region and Kashmir Valley are challenging enough for candidates, but there are bigger challenges for the leaders like Azad, who has put his...