The National Conference (NC) and the BJP on Tuesday won two seats each out of the five Lok Sabha constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir. However, two former J&K Chief Ministers – Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference’s Omar Abdullah – lost to dark horses in the Baramulla and Anantnag-Rajouri seats.
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While jailed Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) candidate Engineer Rashid won from Baramulla, the NC’s Mian Altaf Larvi emerged victorious in Anantnag-Rajouri, in the first-ever Lok Sabha election after the Centre’s decision to end the special constitutional status of J&K in 2019.
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Dip in margin
In the Hindu-majority Jammu region, the BJP’s Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore were poised to win Udhampur and Jammu seats by defeating INDIA bloc’s Chaudhary Lal Singh and Raman Bhalla, both from the Congress. However, the margin of defeat – unlike the 2019 Lok Sabha election when Dr. Singh won by 3.57 lakh votes – is likely to be far less at 1.25 lakh votes. Mr. Kishore, who won in 2019 by 2.57 lakh votes, managed to win by around 1.35 lakh votes, a significant dip in the vote share of the BJP in the Jammu region.
Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah after adresses media persons at his residence in Srinagar on June 4, 2024. | Photo Credit: Nissar Ahmad
In the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley, people threw up a shocker by voting out key faces from the Mufti and Abdullah families.
Jailed in 2019 in a terror funding case, Mr. Rashid, an Independent candidate backed by the Awami Ittehad Party, defeated Mr. Abdullah in Baramulla by over 2.03 lakh votes. Mr. Larvi of the NC defeated Ms. Mufti by around 2.81 lakh votes in Anantnag-Rajouri, a constituency that the PDP considered its political capital in south Kashmir.
“It is a vote for the release of my innocent father. It took me a mere ₹27,000 to defeat Mr. Abdullah. I spent this money on vehicles to campaign for my jailed father. This election was essentially oppressor versus oppressed, justice versus injustice,” Abrar Rashid, 23-year-old son of Mr. Rashid, told The Hindu.
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Voters have spoken: Omar
Accepting his defeat, Mr. Abdullah said, “Congratulations to Engineer Rashid for his victory in North Kashmir. I don’t believe his victory will hasten his release from prison nor will the people of North Kashmir get the representation they have a right to, but the voters have spoken and in a democracy that’s all that matters.”
Ms. Mufti said she respected the people’s verdict. “Winning and losing is part of the game and won’t deter us from our path,” Ms. Mufti said.
In the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, the NC’s Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, a popular Shia cleric, defeated the PDP’s Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, who emerged as the youngest candidate at the age of 36. Mr. Ruhullah defeated Mr. Parra by a margin of 1.88 lakh votes.
“It’s a vote against the decisions made on August 5, 2019. People have spoken democratically. It’s my responsibility to take people’s voice to Parliament and represent the sentiments and struggle for the return of our dignity and rights,” Mr. Mehdi said.
‘Message to Delhi’
All the candidates whom the BJP backed in the Kashmir Valley, including J&K Apni Party’s Zaffar Manhas have lost. J&K Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone also lost from Baramulla.
“Kashmiris, after years of silence, have boldly spoken out through their votes for the first time, to break the cycle of silence and to reclaim voice. It’s a vote against hybrid leaders propped up after 2019 and also against the BJP’s ‘Naya Kashmir’ narrative, which was built on a falsehood. Voters have sent a message to Delhi that the NC and the PDP remain the main voices from J&K,” Mr. Parra told The Hindu.
This Lok Sabha election was also marked by a record voter turnout of 58% – the highest in the past 35 years.
Published - June 04, 2024 02:43 pm IST
