Narrative Showdown: Bitter Contest Defines Kashmir’s Election Campaign
It is worth mentioning that BJP did not field any candidate in Kashmir but they have accused NC and PDP of staging fake encounters in Kashmir in order to cling to power.
While Udhampur parliamentary segment witnessed high voter turnout, bitter battle of narratives is unfolding in the three parliamentary segments of Kashmir.
I.N.D.I.A. united candidate Lal Singh has given a tough battle to the two time sitting MP who is seeking third term from BJP Dr. Jitendra Singh.
All the political parties especially National Conference, PDP and Congress are accusing other regional political players of being in collusion with BJP and in Kashmir these bitter utterances are becoming shriller with each passing day.
It is worth mentioning that BJP did not field any candidate in Kashmir but they have accused NC and PDP of staging fake encounters in Kashmir in order to cling to power.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently accused them of staging fake encounters and being responsible for the killing of innocents in order to be in power.
Mehbooba Mufti, who is contesting from Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary segment, has said that in this election people of Kashmir will have to prove that they have not accepted the disempowerment of them post August 05, 2019.
She claimed that the central government and other agencies want a low voter turnout so that their proxies can win in Kashmir. Mufti has appealed to the voters to vote in large numbers to frustrate such designs of the central government.
Former chief minister Omar Abdulla, who has decided to shift from Srinagar to Baramulla parliamentary segment, has challenged BJP to field their candidates and not to hide behind their proxies, an apparent reference to former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and former minister Sajad Gani Lone.
Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who decided not to contest from Anantnag parliamentary segment, has recently said that Omar Abdullah is a tourist and has not connected with people of Jammu and Kashmir. As a response, Abdullah has accused him of getting instructions from BJP to cut votes and help their candidates in Jammu and Kashmir.
Responding to this accusation, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Sajad Gani Lone said Omar Abdullah was a tourist and was dabbling in Kashmir politics.
Azad said that Abdullah and his other leaders have lived a luxurious life and have no concept about the sufferings of people in the past one decade.
PDP has also criticized Omar Abdullah for not contesting from Srinagar and described him as an internally displaced candidate.
In Baramulla parliamentary segment, Sajad Gani Lone of Peoples Conference would be directly pitted against former chief minister Omar Abdullah and there is a bitter war of ideologies on the ground.
Sajad Gani Lone has dubbed NC and PDP responsible for all the ills of Kashmir and said that they cannot fool people anymore in the name of Article 370 and internal autonomy.
In the coming days the political narrative will become sharper and bitter as all these leaders are accusing each other of being A, B, and C teams of BJP. Source
