J&K Peoples Conference (PC) President Sajjad Lone sought Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari’s support in North Kashmir for the parliamentary elections, emphasising the paramount importance of consolidating votes to prevent fragmentation that has historically favoured the NC.
Lone is the PC candidate for North Kashmir’s Baramulla Lok Sabha seat.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Lone said, “It’s high time we united 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.
Presenting an impactful statistical analysis, Lone exposed the stark reality of NC’s stranglehold on North Kashmir. “Since 1975, with the sole exception of 1996 elections, an astonishing nine out of ten MPs from Baramulla Parliamentary Constituency have hailed from NC,” he said.
Lone attributed this to the fragmentation of votes, lamenting that “while the NC’s vote share has plummeted from a staggering 65 per cent in 1982 to a mere 29 per cent in 2019, they still emerged victorious due to the division among anti-NC votes”.
Citing the 2019 elections as a glaring example, Lone said though the NC secured only 1,33,426 of the 4,55,999 votes cast, a staggering 3,22,573 votes were cast against them. “This means the NC secured a paltry 29 per cent of votes, while a resounding 71 per cent of voters rejected them. Alarmingly, for every single vote cast in their favour, 2.5 votes were cast against them. This travesty must end,” he declared.
Lone affirmed that the PC leadership had engaged in constructive discussions with Apni Party representatives and for now, their focus remains solely on forging a strategic alliance with the Apni Party.
Earlier during the day, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah accused the Apni Party and the Peoples Conference of being the “B-team of BJP”.