SRINAGAR, Sept 15: Ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections, National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah on Sunday alleged that Independent MP from Baramulla Engineer Rashid is targeting the National Conference.
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“Engineer Rashid is targeting the National Conference… Everyone is targeting the NC… Forget his (PM’s) promises; he should give an account of what he has done in the last 10 years, despite Jammu and Kashmir having a double-engine government,” Abdullah said.
Earlier, Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah termed the Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid as an “agent” of the BJP a day after he walked out of Tihar Jail on interim bail.
On Thursday, Baramulla Lok Sabha MP Engineer Rashid, after being released on interim bail, said that for him the issue is not Assembly elections but to find a solution to the Kashmir issue.
“For me, the issue is not Assembly elections but finding a solution to the Kashmir issue is most important,” Rashid said.
On Tuesday, a special NIA court in Delhi granted bail to Rashid, an accused in the terror funding case, and allowed him to campaign in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.
In 2005, Rashid was arrested by the Special Operations Group (SOG) in Srinagar for allegedly supporting militants.
In August 2019, Rashid was again arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). While incarcerated, he filed his nomination for the 2024 parliamentary elections from jail and won by a margin of 204,000 votes, defeating former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
The elections in Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled to be held on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The counting will take place on October 8.
These are the first assembly polls to be held in Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370. There are a total number of 90 Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 7 seats are reserved for SCs and 9 seats are reserved for STs.
According to the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible electors.
In the previous Assembly elections, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 25, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) won 15, and the Congress won 12. (Agencies)
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