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In J&K, a 'fixed match' and 7 'gifted' votes: Sajad Lone's charge at NC, BJP over Rajya Sabha seats
Sajad Lone accused the NC of betraying its anti-BJP stance. “Today, we have caught them red-handed in their (BJP’s) lap,” he said.
A political firestorm erupted in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday after the Rajya Sabha elections for four seats, with People's Conference (PC) chief Sajad Lone alleging that the UT's ruling National Conference (NC) “gifted” seven votes to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), calling the exercise a “fixed match".
The comments came after in the Rajya Sabha elections, held for the first time in J&K after it became a Union Territory in 2019, the NC secured wins on three seats while the BJP managed one too.
“You (NC) have clearly gifted seven members to the BJP. It was a fixed match,” Lone said at a press conference in Srinagar.
Vote pattern raises questions
Elections for four seats were conducted in three separate notifications. Under the third notification, two seats were contested. NC’s Chowdhry Mohammed Ramzan and Sajjad Kitchloo won the first two seats comfortably.
However, the polling under the third notification, in which NC’s GS Oberoi (also known as Shammi Oberoi) and Imran Nabi Dar faced BJP’s Sat Sharma, raised eyebrows.
Oberoi bagged 31 votes and Dar 21, while the BJP candidate received 32. Three votes were declared invalid.
The BJP, which has 28 MLAs, appeared to have gained at least four extra votes, likely from Independents. However, Lone alleged the votes came from the NC.
‘NC sitting in BJP’s lap’
Lone accused the NC of betraying its anti-BJP stance. “They (NC) used to say everyone else is with the BJP and only they are against it. Today, we have caught them red-handed in their (BJP’s) lap,” he said.
He further alleged cross-voting by NC MLAs, saying, “I am saying this with authority that all the cross-voting was done by the NC. Who are those whose votes were rejected? They are not kindergarten kids; everyone understands the process.”
Lone went on to claim that the results were not a result of “horse-trading” but of an “understanding” between the NC and the BJP.
“The NC had a pact with Delhi. The BJP’s real tally is 70, including 42 from the NC, and not just 32 (28 party MLAs plus four who supported it in the polls),” he alleged.
Earlier on Friday, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah had denied any speculations of cross-voting in his party, he said, “All of @JKNC_votes remained intact across the four elections, as witnessed by our election agent who saw each polling slip. There was no cross voting from any of our MLAs so the questions arise - where did the 4 extra votes of the BJP come from?"
He added, “Who were the MLAs who deliberately invalidated their votes by marking a wrong preference number while voting? Do they have the guts to put their hands up and own up to helping the BJP after promising us their votes? What pressure or inducement helped them make this choice? Let’s see if any of the BJP’s secret team own up to selling their souls!”
