BJP backing Mehbooba Mufti, claims Omar Abdullah

National Conference chief Omar Abdullah on April 25 claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party is backing Mehbooba Mufti for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

During a roadshow in Srinagar, Abdullah said that the reason BJP candidates have not filed nomination papers is that they are covertly supporting Mufti and her party candidates.

"BJP won't file nomination because they are covertly supporting the candidates. We all know that there's no BJP symbol but the candidates are there. Mehbooba Mufti has also got BJP's support. We will win all six seats of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir."

This is the second time that Omar has alleged the so-called BJP-Mufti secret alliance for the 2024 general elections.

Abddullah's allegation came after BJP leader Mushtaq Bukhari urged members of the Pahari community to vote for Mehbooba Mufti in the ongoing polls.

Polling in Udhampur was held on April 19 (Phase 1), while Jammu, Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar, and Baramulla will poll on April 26, May 7, May 13, and May 20 respectively.

In 2019, polling for the Lok Sabha was held for six seats in Jammu and Kashmir. However, following the abrogation of Article 370, which resulted in the split of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state into two Union Territories--Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, there is no longer a separate Lok Sabha constituency for Ladakh.

In the 2019 elections, the BJP won three seats while the National Conference won the remaining three.

Mehbooba joined the electoral fray from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat after the National Conference refused to accommodate the PDP chief, citing its victory from all three Lok Sabha constituencies in the Kashmir Valley in 2019.

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