National Conference Vice President and candidate for Ganderbal and Budgam, Omar Abdullah, on Sunday exuded confidence in winning the assembly elections in the union territory and stated that he believes the NC-Congress alliance can secure victory without relying on the administration’s assistance.
Speaking to ANI, the NC vice president said, “We are getting information of interference from the administration, but we do not expect from any officer that they will help us in the elections. By God’s grace, our party has the strength to win the elections without the administration’s help.”
The NC vice chief, in a veiled attack towards the BJP, said that the officials sent in Jammu and Kashmir for offering assistance to the NDA should also stop.
“We do not expect any officer to help us. But the officers who have been sent here a day before the elections should stop their activities of providing assistance. The results will be announced after October 8, and the NC-Congress alliance will come to power,” said Omar Abdullah.
Earlier, Omar Abdullah said, “They (the BJP) are not contesting that many seats to get a majority on themselves. They have left a maximum number of seats in Kashmir and they won’t be able to win many seats in Jammu. But, if they are indicating that they have B, C, D, and E teams here and through them, they can fool people again, I want to say that people are more aware now. The results, which are in my knowledge after the first two phases–NC and Congress–will form the government here.”
Abdullah also questioned the BJP’s motive behind ending the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir and sought answers on the benefits of making it a Union Territory.
He expressed confidence in the Supreme Court and vowed to restore statehood after the elections.
“The Prime Minister is repeatedly saying that J&K will get its statehood back. So far, no one from the BJP has been able to explain to us why our statehood was taken away? What benefit did we get by making it a Union Territory? We will wait to get our statehood back after the elections. If there is any delay, we will go to the Supreme Court, and we have full faith in the court. We will definitely get our statehood,” Abdullah said.
Elections are being held in three phases in Jammu and Kashmir. This marks the first assembly elections in the Union Territory after a ten-year gap and the first since the abrogation of Article 370.
The first and second phases of the assembly polls were held on September 18 and September 25, respectively.
The third and final phase is scheduled for October 1, with vote counting set for October 8. (ANI)