Srinagar: Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, urged the Election Commission not to postpone the elections for the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat. The Election Commission had sought a report from Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and the Chief Electoral Officer following representations by some parties and three candidates asking for a rescheduling of the elections due to adverse weather conditions, including snowfall on the Mughal road.
Omar Abdullah stated that postponing the elections should not be considered, especially since not all parties have demanded it. He criticized the move, stating that some people who wrote to the Election Commission were not even contesting.
On the other hand, Mehbooba Mufti accused her opponents of conspiring against her, saying they do not want her in Parliament. She claimed that people from all religious and party lines were supporting her, and her opponents were trying to influence the Election Commission to defer and rig the elections. She traveled through the Mughal road recently, which was recently opened for traffic, and emphasized that there was no justification for deferring the voting in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat. She warned that postponing the elections would send the wrong message and could have serious consequences.
Mehbooba Mufti also referred to the alleged rigging in the 1987 assembly elections, which led to the eruption of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. She urged the Election Commission not to risk the democratic process, as the people of Jammu and Kashmir have already suffered and have little faith left in the electoral process.
The Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency is scheduled to go to polls in the third phase on May 7, with 21 candidates, including Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Mian Altaf, in the fray. The Congress is supporting the National Conference from the constituency as part of a seat-sharing agreement among the INDIA bloc partners.
The BJP and its allies have moved the Election Commission, fearing a significant defeat from the INDIA alliance candidate. However, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Vikar Rasool Wani stated that despite their attempts to reschedule the poll date and use all tactics, the INDIA bloc would still emerge victorious.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh stated that the BJP would follow whatever decision the Election Commission takes regarding elections in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat.
Manish Sisodia's Judicial Custody Extended Till May 8 in Money Laundering Case
PM Modi Hails Supreme Court's Verdict on EVMs, Calls it a "Tight Slap" to Opposition
