Kokernag: While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have said that it would not contest Lok Sabha elections in Kashmir valley, the party is actually fighting the polls here through the Apni Party and Peoples Conference (PC), National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah said.
Talking to media persons after an election rally at Larnoo area of south Kashmir’s Kokernag, he said: “Home Minister Sahab said that perhaps BJP will not field its candidates for the three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir saying they will wait for the lotus (BJP’s election symbol) to bloom here. They had not waited for it to bloom in 2019 when they fielded candidates in all three constituencies here and they were defeated.
“Now they are saying that they will wait. Actually, BJP, Apni Party, and PC are fighting polls together. This also became clear when BJP leader Tarun Chugh visited the residence of Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari, where PC President Sajad Lone was also called for a meeting,” he said.
“I want to ask the BJP if people are so content with its policies why it was forced to support a third party.”
“We would like to remind them that J&K is the only state that implemented land reforms, where people got land ownership rights free of cost,” he said.
Despite turbulent years, nobody in J&K died of hunger and It was possible only because of Article 370,” he added.
It is worth mentioning that on Thursday, Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari openly appreciated the work of the Government of India. He stated that ‘peace in Kashmir is attributed to the BJP and that New Delhi stands with those who represent the aspirations of the people in Jammu and Kashmir.’