The National Conference (NC) definitely had the last laugh even as the sulking People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
SRINAGAR: The National Conference (NC) definitely had the last laugh even as the sulking People’s Democratic Party (PDP) went into a shell after the Election Commission announced the poll dates on Sunday. However, the separatists, led by Hurriyat Conference, are planning to boycott the elections.
The NC, banking on the UPA support, is surely going to cash in on the PDP’s
eroding credibility. And that is why the party said it “would not shy away from the
polls process”.
“We realise it is a Herculean task to canvass and convince people to vote. But we are accepting the challenge [to contest polls],” said Dr Mehboob Beig, provincial president of the NC.
“Let me be also very clear that election cannot solve the Kashmir issue. But there are other issues such as unemployment, roads and power which can be addressed
by people’s representatives,” he added.
The PDP on the other side is facing a catch-22 situation particularly after they welcomed the EC’s earlier decision to defer the poll dates calling it as “vindication of their stand”. PDP leader Tariq Karra said on Sunday, “Our party has nothing to say on the decision.”
The PDP’s has also lost its one-time ally Congress, which has blamed them for the fall of the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led government in the state.
The Congress leaders are meeting on Monday to finalise the list of the candidates. “We are ready for the polls,” said Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, former president of J&K Pradesh Congress Committee.
It is the separatists and the Shri Amarnath Sangrash Simiti (SASS) which have added zing to the poll process in the state. While the Hurriyat Conference is embarking on the anti-election campaign, the SASS has decided to support those parties which champion the cause of Jammu.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of moderate Hurriyat, said, “We will ask people to stay away from the polls because they [elections] cannot be an alterative to the right to self-determination. Time has come for New Delhi to take steps and resolve the dispute according to the wishes of people of Kashmir.”
SASS convener Leela Karan Sharma, who led the two-month agitation in Jammu for the restoration of 39.88 hectares to Amarnath Shrine Board, said, “We will tell people not to vote those parties and people responsible for Amarnath land row.”
h_ishfaq@dnaindia.net
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