Mehbooba Mufti: Lok Sabha Elections Not a Duel Between PDP and NC

Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti continued her campaign trail in South Kashmir today, emphasising the broader implications of the electoral battle. “This is not a fight between the People’s Democratic Party and the National Conference,” she said. “It is a fight over who will truly represent the people and who will not.”

Addressing people at a rally Qazigund, she said, “I am not contesting the parliament election to reach the parliament but today I am out to highlight the suffocation people are subjected to in Jammu and Kashmir.”

Mehbooba is contesting for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat and she is up against National Conference candidate Mian Altaf and the Democratic Progressive Azad Party president Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Mehbooba criticized the portrayal of Kashmir’s situation by outsiders saying the outsiders don’t know what Kashmiris are going through inside. “The youths are being threatened. They are not allowed to speak up. In New Delhi, they say all is well in Kashmir because a tourist comes and takes few pictures,” she said.

The election, she said, is more than a contest between political parties; it’s about who will genuinely represent the Kashmiri people. “I am fighting the elections to raise the voices of those people and youth who are suffering. This time people have to poll the votes for themselves not for me. She said people should use their electoral power to safeguard their rights and secure a better future for their youth,” she added.