Farooq Abdullah Questions Detention of Party Workers During Jammu and Kashmir Polls

Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, has raised concerns over the detention of his party workers, alleging that they have been held for the past two days. His remarks come amidst polling for the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency, marking the first election in the Union Territory since the abrogation of Article 370.

Accompanied by the Vice-President of his party, Omar Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah expressed dismay over claims of normalcy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. “It is sad that they say that there is no violence and everything is smooth but I want to say that the workers of our party have been locked up for 2 days,” he stated, questioning the motive behind the detention.

Farooq Abdullah directed his questions towards the Union Home Minister and Prime Minister Modi, demanding to know the reason behind the confinement of their workers. “Are they scared that they will lose? They will lose,” he added emphatically.

Omar Abdullah, responding to reports of harassment faced by polling agents, condemned the administration’s actions. “This is an attempt from the administration to vitiate the poll process and it is condemnable,” he asserted. Urging the people of Srinagar, Budgam, and Shopian to exercise their voting rights, Omar appealed for high turnout in the elections.

Interestingly, neither the Congress nor the BJP have fielded candidates for the Srinagar seat, indicating a unique electoral landscape in the region. With Jammu and Kashmir under central rule since the collapse of the PDP-BJP government in 2018, the electoral process assumes added significance.

The ongoing voting in Jammu and Kashmir is part of a five-phase election process, with the 2019 elections witnessing the BJP securing three seats and the National Conference clinching the remaining three.

Despite being allies in the opposition alliance INDIA bloc, the PDP and NC have opted to contest independently in the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

As the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unfold in seven phases from April 19 to June 1, the outcome will be keenly awaited, with the counting of votes and declaration of results scheduled for June 4.