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J&K elections: Rajnath, Kharge hold rallies as campaign for final phase ends
Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge held rallies in parts of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday where they targeted each other’s camps as political parties wrapped up their campaigning in Jammu and Kashmir before the last of the assembly constituencies go to polls on Tuesday.
Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge held rallies in parts of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday where they targeted each other’s camps as political parties wrapped up their campaigning in Jammu and Kashmir before the last of the assembly constituencies go to polls on Tuesday.
Pakistan, terrorism, the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and the question of statehood for a region that was turned into a Union territory in 2019 were the dominant issues in campaign pitches. The polls to select a new assembly is the first in a decade.
Defence minister Singh, who held a rally in Gurez assembly segment of Bandipora district in the Kashmir valley, said India would have given a larger bailout package to Pakistan than sought by Islamabad from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had the neighbouring nation maintained friendly relations with New Delhi.
Congress chief Kharge addressed a public gathering in Jasrota in Jammu, where he vowed to fight for the restoration of statehood to the Union territory, and said he would remain active in politics until Prime Minister Narendra Modi is ousted from power.
Forty assembly seats across seven districts, comprising 3.9 millioneligible voters, will go to polls in the last phase on Tuesday, when the fate of 415 candidates, including former deputy chief ministers Tara Chand and Muzaffar Beig will be decided. Of the 40 seats, 24 are in Jammu and 16 are in the Valley. Polling for the remaining 50 seats were held in two phases on September 18 (25) and September 25 (26). The results will be announced on October 8.
Addressing the rally in Gurez, Singh referred to the prime minister’s development package for Jammu & Kashmir announced in 2014-15 by Modi.
“Modi ji in 2014-15 announced a special package for development of Jammu & Kashmir, which has now reached ₹90,000 crore. The amount is much bigger than what Pakistan was seeking from the IMF (as bailout package),” he said.
Singh referred to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s popular remark that “we can change friends but we cannot change the neighbours”. “I said, my Pakistani friends, why have strained relations, we are neighbours. If we had good relations, we would have given more money than the IMF,” he said.
Singh said Pakistan, which has used terrorism as a tool against India, has been isolated at the international forums with some of its trusted allies also stepping back.
The Union minister’s remarks came a day after external affairs minister S Jaishankar told Pakistan at the UN General Assembly that its policy of cross border terrorism will never succeed; it must have no expectations of impunity and its actions will have consequences; and the only issues on the table are Pakistan’s vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory and abandonment of its policy of terrorism.
Kharge, at his rally, criticised the BJP-led government at the Centre for its handling of the Union territory, particularly regarding the delay of elections.
“We will fight to restore statehood. We are not going to leave it… I will listen to you. I will fight for you,” he said.
The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha alleged the BJP was “running Jammu & Kashmir through remote control”, and pointed to the Supreme Court’s intervention as the catalyst for the government’s preparations for the elections. “These people never wanted to conduct elections. They only started preparing for elections after the Supreme Court’s order,” he said.
He also said that Modi’s recent visit to Jammu & Kashmir showed the latter’s anxiety about potential defeat. “You must have heard how many lies Modi ji spoke when he came here. This shows his nervousness because he can clearly see defeat,” he said.
The ongoing contest in the Union territory is poised between the BJP, a Congress-National Conference (NC) combine, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). A last-minute alliance between Baramulla lawmaker Sheikh Abdul Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) and politico-religious outfit Jamaat-e-Islami – their candidates are contesting as Independents – and a host of local parties such as the People’s Conference, the Apni Party, and the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) are likely to make inroads and skew the electoral arithmetic.
“A total of 415 candidates are in the fray for the final phase when 40 assembly constituencies will go to polls onTuesday. Of the total 449 valid nominations, 34 candidates withdrew their nominations by September 17,” chief electoral officer PK Pole said.
The voter turnout was robust in the earlier phases, with 61.38% participation in the first phase and 57.31% in the second.
