Anantnag-Rajouri LS seat: NC, PDP urge ECI not to postpone polls amid row over road conditions

SRINAGAR: The National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party on Friday sent a letter to the Election Commission of India urging not to postpone polls in the Anantnag-Rajouri parliament constituency.
The development comes a day after the Election Commission of India sought a report from the Chief Secretary Jammu and Kashmir and the Chief Electoral Officer of Union Territory on representations submitted by some parties and candidates seeking rescheduling of elections in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency due to adverse weather conditions, including snowfall on the Mughal road.
As many as 20 candidates are in the fray for the Anantnag-Rajouri parliament seat, including Mian Altaf of the National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party and Zaffar Iqbal Manhas of Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party.
The election on Anantnag-Rajouri is scheduled to be held on 7th May.
A press conference in this regard was called by the National Conference at its party headquarters. Addressing the media, National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah said, warned the Election Commission of India (ECI) to desist from possible rescheduling Lok Sabha polls in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, saying, “The poll body must consider views of other parties as well”.
“I appeal to the Election Commission of India rather than warn the poll body that such steps will harm the electoral process in Jammu and Kashmir, and so should be disallowed,” Omar said.
Omar Abdullah said we heard BJP and their subsidiary parties, along with the administration and ECI, are hatching a conspiracy to reschedule polls in the Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary seat who have cited bad road conditions on Mughal road.
Talking over the Letter released by ECI, Omar said, “The letter is surprising. There are those parties and persons who are not fighting elections there. BJP and JKPC are not contesting polls. Are they again confirming that these parties have fielded their proxies there?”.
I am adding that, he said, “If roads like Karnah, Keran, Ladakh and other parts of the Union Territory can be opened, why not Mughal Road? I have been a Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir for six years, and I know how much capabilities we have.
ECI must consider the views of every party. If our views are not being entertained, we will reach this conclusion that polls are being deferred in a well-thought-out conspiracy,” Omar Abdullah held. “We have a letter in this regard, and it will be sent to ECI,” he added.
Later, National Conference candidate Mian Altaf wrote a letter to the Election Commission of India, which briefly read, “As the contesting candidate, I find no difficulty in moving around my constituency, regardless of the status of Mughal Road”.
Suppose the Election Commission has any concerns about the status of the Mughal Road. In that case, a directive to the J&K administration should be issued by the Election Commission to ensure that the road is kept open all the time.
Speaking to the media in the Surankote area of the Poonch district, PDP President Mehbooba Mufti said, “She travelled through the Mughal road, which was recently opened for traffic.
“There is no justification in deferring voting in Anantnag-Rajouri seat. I request the Election Commission not to postpone the elections when only ten days are left in the polling. This will send the wrong message and will have serious consequences,” she said before leaving for Mendhar town to carry forward her campaign.
“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", she said.
PDP, too had written a letter to ECI, which briefly read, “We hope that the ECI will take the history of Jammu and Kashmir into consideration before taking any decisions based on geography which such huge implication in 21st Century when the country claims to be logistically advanced, especially in road communication:”
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari has defended the decision to postpone polls in the Anantnag-Rajouri parliament constituency.
Addressing the reports after a function here, Altaf Bukhari said, “The road remains closed, and people cannot vote, which is their basic right, and I feel it should be postponed”.