Sajad Lone seeks Apni Party support to undo anti-NC vote fragmentation in Bla-Kup, extends support elsewhere
“71% voted against NC in 2019 LS polls from north Kashmir and Omar calls every opponent as anti-Kashmir”
Srinagar: Citing the 2019 vote share in the Baramulla-Kupwara Lok Sabha seat as a sample, J&K People Conference President and party’s LS candidate from north Kashmir Sajad Lone today revealed that 71% of voters voted against NC but because of the fragmentation of the vote, the party won the seat.
“Today Omar Abdullah is labelling everyone, who is daring to contest against his party, as A or B team of BJP, as anti-Kashmir and anti-Kashmiri. Isn’t he humiliating these 71% Kashmiris?” Sajad Lone questioned.
He, during a press conference held here today, sought Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari’s support in North Kashmir for the upcoming Parliamentary elections, emphasizing the paramount importance of consolidating votes to prevent fragmentation that has historically favored the NC.
While addressing a press conference, Lone said, “It’s high time we unite to represent the true will of the majority in North Kashmir. We extend our hand to Apni Party, seeking their crucial support in Baramulla, just as we vow to back them in Srinagar to defeat the forces that have long betrayed the precious mandate of Kashmiris,” he said.
Emphasising how NC has been winning due to the fragmentation of votes in north Kashmir, Lone said: “Since 1975, with the sole exception of 1996 elections, an astonishing nine out of ten MPs from Baramulla Parliamentary Constituency have been from NC.”
Lone attributed this anomaly to the fragmentation of votes, lamenting, “While the NC’s vote share has plummeted from a staggering 65% in 1982 to a mere 29% in 2019, they still emerged victorious due to the division among anti-NC votes.”
Citing the 2019 elections as a glaring example, Lone revealed that although the NC secured only 133,426 votes out of the 455,999 cast, a staggering 322,573 votes were cast against them.
“This means the NC secured a paltry 29% of the vote, while a resounding 71% of voters rejected their mandate. Alarmingly, for every single vote cast in their favor, 2.5 votes were cast against them. This travesty must end,” he declared.
Lone affirmed that PC leadership had engaged in constructive discussions with Apni Party representatives and for now, their focus remains solely on forging a strategic alliance with Apni Party.
The People’s Conference chief is contesting against Omar Abdullah, the NC vice-president and a former chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state.
Baramulla goes to the polls in the fifth phase on May 20 while Srinagar will vote in the fourth phase on May 13.
