Govt trying to obstruct by-polls in Srinagar LS seat, alleges Farooq

Srinagar, Apr 9: With violence badly affecting voting at various places during the by-election to Srinagar parliamentary constituencies, main opposition National Conference (NC) candidate Farooq Abdullah accused the government of trying to obstruct the by-polls.
“There is evidence that the government is trying to obstruct the elections,” Dr Abdullah told reporters after casting his vote at a polling station here today.
Dr Abdullah, who is former union minister and NC president, further alleged that the government has failed in giving a peaceful atmosphere for people to come and vote.
Dr Abdullah and ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nominee Nazir Ahmad Khan are among nine candidates seeking mandate from the constituency, which has recorded only 4.88 polling till 1300 hrs.
The other candidates are Bikram Singh of Liberal Democratic Party, Chetan Sharma of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, Sajad Reshi of Rashtriya Samajwadi Party (S), and independent candidates Sajjad Hussain Beigh, Ghulam Hassan Dar, Farooq Ahmad Dar and Mehraj Khurshid Malik.
However, the main contest is between Dr Abdullah and Mr Khan.
NC and Congress entered into a pre-poll alliance according to which Dr Abdullah is seeking mandate from Srinagar Lok Sabha seat while J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir will contest bypoll from Anantnag parliamentary constituency.
Even though BJP has not fielded any candidate for the bypolls to the two Lok Sabha seats, its leaders have supported coalition partner in the government PDP nominees in Anantnag and Srinagar constituencies.
Meanwhile, a high level delegation of NC met Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for Jammu and Kashmir, Shantamanu yesterday and apprised him of certain alleged glaring and brazen instances of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations happening at the behest of the State Government.
The delegation led by the party general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar also asked for immediate cognizance of these incidents to save the credibility of the democratic process.