Election campaigning has picked up steam in Jammu and Kashmir which goes to polls on November 25.
While the ruling National Conference’s star campaigner is the party’s working president and Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party campaign is led by party patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and his daughter, Mehbooba Mufti, who is also the president of the PDP.
The Congress party which was a NC coalition partner in the government for the past six years has fielded former union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to lead its campaign in the state.
The BJP which is making a big foray in the election scene particularly in the Muslim majority Kashmir valley has decided to field its candidates from all the 87 constituencies in the state.
The party is pulling out all stops and launched a 44+ campaign in a bid to form the next government on its own in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The BJP is trying to emerge as a single largest party in the polls to form the government with some outside support. The party has locked horns with the PDP to achieve this goal as it feels PDP is the only hurdle in achieving the target,” said a local journalist requesting anonymity.
The BJP claims are countered by the NC as well as the PDP. Both the valley centric NC and the PDP claim that the next government would be formed by their party.
“Daydreaming by PDP and the BJP’s 44+ drama will end up in oblivion,” Omar Abdullah, the NC working president said, adding “dreaming, however, is not a banned commodity.”
Addressing large public meetings at Hall and Shamthi in Ramban assembly constituency, Omar said that PDP was spreading falsehood and baseless propaganda while BJP was staging a drama to create illusion and confusion among the voters.
He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir were wise enough to read between the lines and understand the designs of these parties that create artificial hype to mislead the public.
Omar said the ‘so-called poll analysis and predictions have nothing do with ground reality. “The reality is that the National Conference is going to win the elections comfortably and with a majority.”
Dr Jatinder Singh, minister of state in the PMO, who is at the forefront of the BJP campaign, inaugurated the party media centre for its ‘mission 44+’ in Jammu.
PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti said her party would bag 45 to 50 seats in the upcoming assembly polls. Referring to the colour of her party’s flag she said, “Everything is looking green. So we will surely bag 39 seats in Kashmir and 11 in Jammu.”
Azad who is campaigning in the hilly districts of Jammu and the valley said that only the Congress government could change destiny of these remote areas.
Photographs: Umar Ganie/Rediff.com
