Are Omar, Sajad entering into secret pact ahead of JK polls?
Jammu, Apr 24: Much ahead of the Assembly polls, an unexpected bonhomie was witnessed between National Conference and Sajad Lone’s People’s Conference during the recently held parliament polls in Srinagar.
Speculations are rife that the NC enjoyed large scale support from PC in Srinagar’s old city, with PC leaders telling their party activists, functionaries and supporters to vote en-masse for NC’s Srinagar candidate Dr Farooq Abdullah.
Such scenes have surprised many within the political spectrum of the state who are asking how could PC make its own Srinagar candidate Irfan Ansari, brother of senior PC leader Imran Ansari, a scapegoat and pave the way for rival NC to win.
In one of the old city areas of Srinagar, PC voters and supporters have en-masse allegedly voted in Farooq Abdullah’s favour which means PC will draw blank from that Assembly segment when poll results would be out on May 23.
Meanwhile, what is making the situation lofty is the way in which PC and NC have allegedly entered into a secret bonhomie. The leaders of these two groups have been ridiculing and levelling serious charges of corruption and deceit against each other during their public rallies.
The ‘secret alliance’ in Srinagar has indeed opened up a Pandora box. Will these two parties will enter into a pre-poll alliance ahead of the state polls that are likely to be held in June or in July this year? Or these two groups will continue trade barbs for now and will only publically declare their romance once the poll results are out?
“It is possible that NC may seek support from PC to form the next government in Jammu and Kashmir after the state elections. PC could well be an ally of NC in future,” says a NC functionary privy to the development.
Pertinently, former separatist leader and present head of PC, Sajad Lone, is these days busy in his image makeover, doing everything by virtue of which he wouldn’t be called the BJP man in Kashmir.
The BJP too had earlier drawn flak over the reports of choosing chief ministerial candidate outside the party, with many political groups taunting it for such a bizarre measure.
Earlier, on November 22, 2018, a day after Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the J&K Assembly, Sajad Lone had reiterated that his party had adequate numbers to form the government in the state.
Lone, who served as cabinet minister in previous BJP-PDP coalition in the state, claimed that he wrote a letter to the Governor, staking claim for the formation of the government only after he was sure that he had enough numbers in the kitty.
“I don’t know about PDP and NC, but we had numbers to form the government. Now when we have accepted Governor’s decision to dissolve the Assembly, the PDP which is making cry of a thief should move the court of law,” Sajad said at that time.
(Via: Early Times)
