National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has alleged that the Mehbooba Mufti-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as its ‘C team’. Speaking to the media, Abdullah urged voters in Jammu and Kashmir to support the INDIA alliance candidates in all five Lok Sabha seats to defeat the BJP and its allies, who he accused of spreading poison across the country.
Abdullah’s statement came after BJP leader Mushtaq Bukhari appealed to members of the Pahari community to cast their votes for Mufti in the ongoing Lok Sabha election. Referring to Bukhari’s request, Abdullah said that if the BJP is to be defeated and its divisive agenda stopped, voters must support the INDIA alliance candidates. He alleged that all other political parties, including the PDP, are either directly or indirectly connected to the BJP.
Abdullah also addressed the substitution of BJP’s sitting MP from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, in this election. He said that the National Conference and Congress are working together to field a strong candidate who will challenge the BJP’s chances of winning the seat. The BJP has fielded Tashi Gyalson, a former party general secretary from Ladakh, as its candidate from the constituency.
Voting for the Lok Sabha seats in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled for April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20. In 2019, the BJP won three of the six seats in Jammu and Kashmir, while the National Conference won the remaining three. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.
