JAMMU: In the first two phases of the assembly elections, the people of Jammu & Kashmir have voted overwhelmingly for the BJP. As the party continues to gain support in all remaining assembly segments, its candidates will win handsomely in the third also. The way party’s polling campaign has been going on, it will form the next government after October 8 when the results are declared, BJP spokesperson & Media Centre Incharge Arun Gupta said here on Friday.
The voters have rejected all the three dynastic parties, the Congress, the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). The parties led by Gandhis, Abdullahs and Muftis have seen the writing on the wall and already conceded defeat, Mr Gupta said. This is the reason why Mehbooba Mufti has started talking of going to the extent of supporting NC to keep BJP out of power, he added.
It is a pleasant surprise for the BJP that the Congress, the NC and the PDP candidates are not visible anywhere on ground, he said. This shows the extent of nervousness among them after the abrogation of Article 35-A and 370 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi five years ago, he said. Though these parties claim that they will work for the restoration of these articles, they know that Modi has buried these articles forever, Mr Gupta asserted.
It is not the prerogative of small regional parties to make changes in the Indian Constitution and the question of these parties bringing back Article 370 does not arise, despite claims and assertions to the contrary, he pointed out. The BJP remained steadfast on its commitment to abrogate this pernicious article for several decades. In June 1953, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee attained martyrdom for opposing Article 370 and his followers carried forward his ideology finally throwing it out of the Constitution in August 2019, Mr Gupta added.
Talking about the cavalier manner in which the NC and the Congress treated the Dogras, Mr Gupta recalled that that in 1946, NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah had launched `Quit Kashmir’ movement. Sheikh had termed Dogras and Kashmiri Pandits as outsiders at that time, he added. Now, decades later, the Congress has entered into alliance with NC and started calling fellow Indians as outsiders, he pointed out. This is a syndrome often displayed by the three dynastic parties as they dream about returning to pre-August 2019 status. Earlier, they used to talk of the status of Jammu & Kashmir which prevailed prior to August 1953, he added.
The NC could not get pre-1953 status restored in J&K till 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated. Nor will it be able to do anything other than making noises for its restoration. Rahul, Omar and Mehbooba know it clearly that till Mr Modi is the PM, they can do nothing, Mr Gupta said.
During NC’s rule, J&K faced economic ruin because of repeated bandhs, hartals and wanton violence. By integrating J&K more closely with the rest of India, the Central government has opened up new economic opportunities for J&K, he said. Now, there are no hartals and no closures of business establishments on calls by separatists and secessionists as these have become things of the past, he added.
Terrorism ruled and terrorists struck at will during the earlier regimes headed by NC-Congress combine. However, once the reigns of J&K were taken over by the Modi government, it has remained terror-free and peaceful, Mr Gupta said. This has impressed the people of J&K and they are voting for the BJP in large numbers, he added.
