SRINAGAR: Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, two former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, along with PAGD spokesperson Sajad Gani Lone alleged that the security forces and the administration were helping the BJP and its cohorts in the DDC elections. Mentioning a particular village of Shopian in her tweet, Mufti said that the elections were being rigged.
Earlier, Lone, in a series of tweets, appealed to the State Election Commission (SEC) and higher ups in the administration to investigate an alleged money distribution case in Uri, a segment of Baramulla district in North Kashmir.
Mufti, levelling a serious allegation against the forces, said that under the garb of inputs about terrorists, an entire village was denied to vote for the PAGD candidate.
Taking to Twitter on Thursday, the PDP leader said, “Security forces have cordoned Matribugh in Shopian & are not allowing people to come out to vote under the pretext of inputs about presence of militants. In a brazen display of power, armed forces are being used to rig this election & favour a particular party.”
National Conference vice president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, while reacting to Mufti’s tweets, claimed that the entire J&K administration was out to help the BJP in these elections. Omar said, “The keepers of the law are more than happy to become law breakers if it serves their interest of cosying up to the BJP & its offshoots in Kashmir. The entire machinery of the administration has taken upon itself the responsibility of helping the BJP in the DDC polls.”
According to the SEC press briefing, the fifth phase of polling was held on Thursday in 37 DDC seats—17 in the Kashmir division and 20 in the Jammu division.
A total of 155 candidates, including 30 women, are in the fray for 17 DDC constituencies in the Kashmir division. In the Jammu division, 144 candidates, including 40 women, are in the fray for 20 constituencies. Polling is also being held for panch and sarpanch vacancies notified in the fifth phase.