The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday blew a bugle against the BJP and described it the main “rival party”. It asked people “to think above sectarian and religious lines” to stop the BJP.
“The recent parliamentary results had the PDP leading from 41 assembly segments and the BJP from 27 in the state. So the upcoming contests will be between the two. The BJP is our main rival party with National Conference and Congress gone off the scene,” said PDP MLC Naeem Akhtar during his speech in Surankote in Jammu’s Rajouri district with three assembly segments.
PDP leader Abdul Rehman Veeri, also leader of opposition in the legislative assembly, was accompanying Akhtar to take the influential civil society group, Development Forum, into the party fold.
The party claims that joining of Development Front leader Ghulam Ahmad Khwaja, a retired deputy commissioner, will spike the party chances to win the seat. In Surankote, there will be a tough fight between the PDP and the Congress.
In an oblique reference to the polarisation induced by the Modi wave in the Jammu division, Akhtar said, “The BJP has made its agenda clear on Jammu and Kashmir. It wants to do away with Article 370, State Subject law and impose Uniform Civil Code. But removing Article 370 and changing State Subject law will not only threaten our identity but our existence too. So people should vote to save their existence. These are crucial polls,” he told a gathering.
{{/usCountry}}In an oblique reference to the polarisation induced by the Modi wave in the Jammu division, Akhtar said, “The BJP has made its agenda clear on Jammu and Kashmir. It wants to do away with Article 370, State Subject law and impose Uniform Civil Code. But removing Article 370 and changing State Subject law will not only threaten our identity but our existence too. So people should vote to save their existence. These are crucial polls,” he told a gathering.
{{/usCountry}}The PDP on Sunday made it clear that it will make the BJP’s wave an issue in the Muslim belts of the Jammu region.
Referring to the opening of the Mughal Road, which connects Surankote with south Kashmir, Akhtar said, “Despite hurdles created by many, PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed ensured to connect people here with the rest of the Valley. He intends to develop Rajouri and Poonch and model districts.”