Srinagar: Two days after the Election Commission of India sought a report on weather and accessibility-related constraints, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday urged the Election Commission not to postpone polls in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat, scheduled for the third phase on May 7. The former chief ministers made the appeal after the EC requested a report from Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and the Chief Electoral Officer on representations submitted by some parties and three candidates seeking rescheduling of elections in the constituency due to adverse weather conditions, including snowfall on the Mughal Road. “I appeal to the EC that such a step should not be taken. The demand for postponement is not from all parties. The weird thing is that some of the people who have written to the EC are not contesting. If I write to the EC about constituencies in Tamil Nadu, etc. will they take notice?” Abdullah told a press conference in Srinagar. He alleged that one of the reasons for the postponement was to disenfranchise a significant portion of the population (Gujjar and Bakerwal) who migrate in May. “The pretexts will be many but the motive is the same because the parties which BJP is helping fear defeat,” he said.
Talking to reporters in the Surankote area of Poonch district, Mehbooba said, “They all have ganged up against me because they do not want to see me in Parliament. People, cutting across religious and party lines, are coming forward in my support, and they are, therefore, using the Election Commission to defer and rig the elections.” The PDP leader said she traveled through the Mughal Road, which was recently opened for traffic. “There is no justification in deferring voting in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat. My request to the Election Commission is not to postpone the elections when only 10 days are left for polling. This will send the wrong message and will have serious consequences,” she said before leaving for Mendhar town to continue her campaign. Mehbooba referred to the alleged rigging in the 1987 assembly elections, leading to the eruption of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, and said, “We request the Election Commission not to take such an adventure as the people in J&K have already suffered a lot and have little faith left in the electoral process.” She said they first reshaped the Anantnag parliamentary constituency, using delimitation as an attempt to rig the elections in their favor, adding, “Don’t they have the knowledge that the Mughal Road traditionally remains closed for six months, but they joined parts on both sides of Pir Panjal just to rig elections. This is not happening anywhere else in the country.” She said the BJP has a lot of money and can press helicopters into service for those they are supporting. “We are the only party that lacks resources, and our workers are spending from their own pockets for the past 25 days, which we cannot continue for the next 20 days in case polls are postponed.” Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Vikar Rasool Wani said he was not surprised by what he described as BJP’s attempts to reschedule the polls. “They know that they are likely to face a significant defeat… Despite their attempts to reschedule the poll date and use of all tactics, the INDIA alliance will still emerge Victorious,” he said in a post on ‘X’. The Congress is supporting the National Conference from the constituency as part of a seat-sharing agreement among INDIA bloc partners. Wani’s BJP counterpart Ravinder Raina, meanwhile, said there are difficulties in campaigning in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat due to heavy snowfall. “The Mughal road condition is bad. There are landslides. In the coming days, there will be more snowfall. That is why ECI has asked for a report from the J&K administration.”
When asked about the apprehensions of poll postponement in Anantnag-Rajouri, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the EC is an independent institution, and whatever decision it takes regarding elections in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat will be followed by the BJP. The Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency will see 21 candidates, including Mehbooba, who is facing a major challenge from National Conference leader and former minister Mian Altaf, contesting the polls. DPAP’s Mohammad Saleem Parray and Apni Party’s Zafar Iqbal Manhas are also among the contestants in the fray, while the BJP has not fielded any candidate and is contemplating its support for one of the contestants not linked to Congress, NC, and PDP. Among those who have submitted their representation to the EC include Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina, Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari, DPAP candidate, Peoples Conference leader Imran Reza Ansari, and two independent candidates.
