Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Sept 16: The former Chief Minister and National Conference vice president, Omar Abdullah, today challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win a single seat in Kashmir in the upcoming Assembly elections, claiming that the party’s assertion of public support would be put to the test.
Addressing reporters in the Pampore area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, Omar criticized the BJP’s claims of widespread support, particularly in relation to a planned election campaign rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 19, the day after the first phase of polls.
Responding to the BJP’s claim that 30,000 people would attend the rally, Omar said, “It is not difficult to gather 30,000 people by spending money. The Prime Minister has done this before, addressing rallies with Government officials. A rally means nothing. Show us a vote. BJP should win a seat from Kashmir, and then we will talk. Anyone can pull off a rally with money.”
He termed the frequent references to “dynasty politics” by BJP leaders, including the Prime Minister and Home Minister, as attempts to distract from their performance. “If they had delivered anything to the people of J&K, they would have shown their report card. Those who have failed have nothing else to offer but talk about family rule,” he said.
Additionally, Omar criticized the pre-poll alliance between Engineer Rashid’s AIP and former Jamat members, suggesting they are being manipulated to weaken the NC. “Their strings are attached somewhere else, and they get signals from elsewhere. They dance to that signal. Their attack is against the NC. It is obvious they have been put on the field to target us,” he said.
The former Chief Minister said the upcoming elections are different in many ways. “This is the first election as a Union Territory. It is also the first election in which Ladakh is not part of J&K, and it follows the betrayal of August 5, 2019,” he said.
Omar also noted that people who had stayed away from elections for the past 30-35 years are now participating. “There are some new elements in this election that we will discover in the future,” he added.
He expressed optimism about the NC’s chances, pointing out that their public roadshows had seen greater turnout than anticipated. “We hope voters will give us a strong mandate when the time comes,” he said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
