Mudassir Kuloo
Srinagar, Sep 28: The BJP on Friday accused the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party of asking its candidates not to file nomination for the upcoming civic polls.
The BJP National General Secretary, Ram Madhav, claimed that PDP and NC were making efforts to derail the democratic process by poll-boycott.
“The PDP and NC bowed before the separatists and announced poll-boycott of upcoming urban local bodies and panchayat elections,” Madhav told the reporters.
“They PDP and NC do not want elections to be held in the state. They are making all efforts to derail the election process. Even their workers are threatening our candidates not to file the nominations for the municipal polls like the militants do.”
The NC and PDP have announced to boycott the panchayat and ULB polls in the state unless the Centre clarifies its position on Article 35A of the Constitution, which is facing legal challenge in the Supreme Court. However, the NC leader Omar Abdullah has said that his party will not launch any “poll boycott campaign neither we are on the same page with separatists”.
Madhav claimed that both the parties were fielding proxies in forthcoming municipal polls.
“The NC, PDP leaders and workers are filing nominations as independent candidates. We welcome their proxies too. People should contest whether on party basis or independently and we want participation of more and more people,” he said.
Earlier, both the parties have claimed that they will not field any proxy candidate in the upcoming panchayat and municipal elections in the state.
“It has exposed the duplicity of the NC and PDP as they did not boycott the Kargil polls but boycott civic elections on Article 35 A issue. The BJP stand is very clear that Supreme Court will take an appropriate view on this issue,” Madhav said.
The BJP National General Secretary said that BJP would field candidates from all municipalities of Kashmir. “There are militant threats still people are coming forward and filing nomination papers. They are not succumbing to their threats,” he said.
The militants have issued threats against civic polls while Hurriyat has called for poll-boycott.
The government has announced holding of 4-phase urban local bodies and 9-phase panchayat elections in the state. The ULB polls would be held on October 8, 10, 13 and 16 while Panchayat polls would be held on November 17, 20, 24, 27, 29 and December 1, 04, 08 and 11.
Madhav said that municipal and panchayat polls were to strengthen the grassroots level.
“You have to make the win of BJP candidates possible. They (PDP and NC) will sink and be aware of them. People will defeat their designs and teach them a lesson,” he appealed to people.
He said that BJP could not convince former alliance partner PDP to hold the polls. “We made efforts but could not succeed.”
He said that Centre will release the funds for civic bodies once the polls end in the state.
