Ravi Shankar Prasad said that voter turnout in Kashmir is much higher than in previous elections.
New Delhi:
Jammu and Kashmir has given a “resounding slap” to “terrorists, extremists and separatists,” Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today, noting the results of elections for local bodies in the newly formed Union Territory, the first elections held there in two years. The emergence of the BJP as the largest party, the minister said, has shown that people have shown a preference for the “larger narrative” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. None of the individual parties of the Gupkar Alliance, an amalgam of seven parties, has been able to compete with the BJP, and this, he said, was the reason behind the alliance.
In a press conference today, when the final results of the elections were known, Prasad said that the BJP has won 74 seats against the 67 seats of the National Conference of Omar Abdullah, 27 of the People’s Democratic Party of Mehbooba Mufti and the 26 seats congressional. The People’s Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration, led by Farooq Abdullah, won 110 seats.
“The BJP got more than 4.5 lakh of votes, which is more than the National Conference, PPD and Congress combined,” Prasad said.
Many of the 39 independent winners had the support of their party, added the BJP leader. Independent candidates have emerged as big winners in Srinagar.
While the BJP put on a strong show in the Jammu region, Prasad said that “the lotus had also blossomed in the Valley.” At first, the BJP won three seats in the Kashmir Valley, where the National Conference, the PDP and the local parties always had freedom of action. The Gupkar Alliance has won 72 seats in the Valley.
“Voter turnout in Kashmir, especially in places known as ‘hotbeds of terror’, has been much higher than in previous elections, before the removal of Article 370,” said Prasad.
“Sopore, Pulwama, Shopian, Gandarbal, who you all know were hotbeds of terror and extremist activity, have come out in great numbers and voted. People have shown terrorists what they believe in. They have slapped those who propagate. terror, “said Prasad.
This, he said, is because the people of Kashmir have seen a “free, fair and proper election for the first time.”
“People have seen electoral activity happen on the ground level. People have seen for the first time how true democracy and development works on the ground,” he added.
The Gupkar Alliance, formed with the aim of restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, has dismissed the BJP’s claims as “propaganda.”
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: “It’s funny to see the desperation of the BJP propaganda wallas. Yesterday there were about 3 seats in the valley and today it is about being the biggest party ashamed to do. Comparisons to @jknc, who was running far fewer seats due to an alliance. “
Yesterday, Abdullah had pointed out the achievements of the Alliance in Jammu, known to be a stronghold of the BJP.
“I understand the temptation to exaggerate the 3 seats that the BJP has won in the valley, but why underestimate the 35 wins / advantages of @JKPAGD in Jammu province? We are not parties based in Kashmir, we are political parties with a strong support in both Kashmir and Jammu, “his tweet read.
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