Srinagar: In Kashmir, in anticipation of the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary polls scheduled for 7 May, the People’s Conference led by Sajad, BJP, Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari, and DPAP led by Ghulam Nabi have collectively urged the Election Commission of India to defer the elections with the NC (National Conference) and PDP (People's Democratic Party) opposing this call, labeling it a “conspiracy” aimed at undermining the credibility of the election process and urging ECI not to defer elections.
Responding to the proposal, Vibhor Agarwal, an under-secretary at the ECI, dispatched a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir to immediately provide a report on “road conditions, weather and accessibility-related constraints” in the constituency whose electoral boundaries were redrawn following the J&K delimitation exercise in 2022.
While Omar Abdullah of the NC labeled it as a conspiracy, Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP drew parallels with the rigging of the 1987 assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing separate press conferences on Friday, April 26, National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to avoid rescheduling the election.
BJP and its “partner parties” along with the J&K administration and ECI are planning to avoid the election because the result will not suit them,” said Omar Abdullah.
First of all, there are no PC or BJP candidates contesting in the constituency, Why is the Election Commission taking notice of their objections? Do they want to bring in a candidate from the backdoor? If I object to elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala or Maharashtra, will the ECI take notice? And if my objection will not be considered in these cases, why is the ECI taking notice of objections from those parties who have not fielded any candidates from the constituency?, Omar asked.
Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting and campagaing for the Anantnag-Rajouri contuiency addressed a press conference in Surankote of Pir Panchal’s Poonch district stating the BJP-led government of India was “afraid” of the support she had received in the constituency after her nomination.
“People of J&K have reposed faith in the election process after much difficulty. What the BJP government and the ECI want to do will set a wrong precedent. Do they want to repeat the 1987 election which sparked a fire that continues to burn Jammu and Kashmir?”, she asked.
This is a conspiracy to keep Mehbooba Mufti out of the parliament. I urge the ECI not to repeat any misadventure,” she said.
In a letter to the ECI, Mehbooba said that the election for the Kathua-Udhampur constituency, which is “almost similarly placed geographically and climatically”, was held on April 19 in “much worse weather and road conditions”.
She said that the elections in J&K have been conducted by the ECI “even in the middle of harsh winter and snowfalls and never before in the history of J&K has any election been postponed for weather conditions”.
Terming the call by the BJP and other parties as “preposterous”, Mehbooba said in her letter that changing the election schedule will “compromise…the principles of democracy and free and fair elections”.
She said that J&K is a “conflict marred area and lack of democracy has been a major reason for our troubles”. It will be a betrayal … and obviously one fears that it could be another flash point in our turbulent history,” the letter added.
It is pertinent to mention that delimitation has redrawn the electoral map in Jammu and Kashmir. In the Anantnag-Rajouri Constituency, parts of the Kashmir Valley were merged with the Pir Panchal region’s Rajouri-Poonch constituency. Now, the constituency covers Zainapora in Shopian, D. H. Pora in Kulgam, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag, Anantnag West, Anantnag East, Srigufwara-Bijbehra, Shangus-Anantnag East, Pahalgam, Nowshera, Rajouri, Budhal (ST), Thannamandi (ST), Surankote (ST), Poonch, Poonch Haveli, and Mendhar.