Anantnag-Rajouri Constituency: Postponing elections will send a wrong signal, Omar, Mehbooba urge ECI not to defer elections
Two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti Friday urged Election Commission of India against postponing polls in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency.
The ECI is considering rescheduling the election of the Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency in following the request of several political parties and independent candidates.
In an official communique, the ECI has asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to furnish a report on the road and weather conditions and the accessibility-related constraints in the said seat for rescheduling of the General Election to Lok Sabha, 2024, in the Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary Constituency.
These candidates have cited adverse road conditions and inclement weather.
Mehbooba Mufti while addressing a press conference in Sarankote Poonch said that she herself travelled to Poonch via Mughal road which is safe for travel.
She highlighted that deferring voting in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat may send the wrong message and have serious consequences.
She referred to the alleged rigging in the 1987 assembly elections, leading to the eruption of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. “We request the Election Commission not to do such an adventure as the people in J-K have already suffered a lot and have little faith left in the electoral process.”
Meanwhile, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said: “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?” [KNT]
