Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah, who filed his nomination papers from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat on Thursday, said he was “up against Delhi’s might and Nagpur’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)“.
“Voters in the Baramulla constituency have to make a simple choice on May 20. Whether they want to vote for a local representative in the Parliament or send a Delhi’s representative to the Parliament. We have a direct contest with Delhi’s might and Nagpur’s RSS. They have fielded their men against the NC and the INDIA bloc candidates on all seats in Kashmir,” Mr. Abdullah said.
Mr. Abdullah, who was accompanied by his two sons and local leaders from ally Congress, launched a veiled attack on J&K Peoples Conference (JKPC) candidate Sajad Lone
“In the past, we fought Pakistani generals. This time we will fight Delhi’s forces. We will not be frightened easily. My worry is that they (the BJP) may manage to postpone the Baramulla polls too like the Anantnag-Rajouri because of our street rally today. I must tell them whether they hold elections today, tomorrow or after months, we are going to win,” Mr. Abdullah said.
He also brought the issue of identity to the centre stage, which has remained the party’s main plank after the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 in 2019.
“Our struggle is for justice and identity. We are fighting for the future of our children. Our founder Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah also started his struggle in same circumstances, when we were political and economic slaves,” Mr. Abdullah said,
He said the people of J&K, after 2019, had reached a stage “where again the rights on water, land and air were denied to them”.
“We will fight for the snatched rights. We will reply by pressing the button on the day of elections. I will ensure I take the struggle to the Parliament and work hard, even though the opponent is very shrewd,” Mr. Abdullah said.
Mr. Lone, who is supported by Altaf Bukhari’s J&K Apni Party, is the main opponent to Mr. Abdullah on the seat. The NC had won the seat in 2019 by a margin of over 30,000 votes. It bagged over 1.3 lakh votes, while the JKPC got 1.03 lakh votes.
