PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, who is the party’s candidate for the prestigious Anantnag Lok Sabha seat, on Monday said that the BJP was making all-out attempts to keep her out of Parliament as “they think that if my voice reaches there, they might face problems”.

Mufti was speaking to reporters in her hometown Bijbehara where a day after being nominated as the party candidate, she visited the graveyard of her father and former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

She said the PDP became the “biggest target” after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and its leaders were either “lured or blackmailed” to break away from it, those who did not yield, were put under detention.

”The entire J&K is today facing big challenges and dark clouds are hovering over our identity,” she said.

Mufti said they fear that the real situation in Jammu and Kashmir and also Ladakh would come to light and those who claim that everything was normal here, will be exposed. That is why they want to keep me out of the Parliament, she added.

“I tried to raise my voice against the oppression and me and my family members faced many difficulties due to that, but I stood my ground,” she said.

Replying to a question on her contest in Anantnag, Ms Mufti said; ”My people are my hope. I am not a powerful person but I raised my voice against oppression. Our tribal population, Gujjars, Bakerwals and Paharis faced oppression because of the impression that there was no one to hear them. The people of J&K will respect what I have done and make my voice stronger.

”Be it south Kashmir or the Pir Panjal area, I visited every village also in Rajouri and Poonch districts when people were in misery. I stood by the families whose innocent people were killed in fake encounters,” she added.

Mufti is pitted against National Conference’s Mian Altaf, Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad and Apni Party’s Zafar Iqbal Manhas. The BJP has yet to announce its candidate for the Anantnag seat where the UT president of the party Ravinder Raina and general secretary (organisation) Ashok Koul have already done one round of campaign.