“Everything has been destroyed in Jammu and Kashmir”: Omar Abdullah

Budgam (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], May 18 (ANI): National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday said that everything has been destroyed in Jammu and Kashmir, adding that the situation is very bad in the Union Territory after the abrogation of Article 370.

Abdullah said that the promises made by the Centre after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 are still to be fulfilled.

“Jammu and Kashmir is our territory, respect, identity. Everything has been destroyed. This all happened after your votes got divided and the National Conference became weak. Today, our situation is very bad. The promises that were made in 2019 with youngsters that Article 370 is a hindrance and they will be provided employment, the same youngsters are moving here and there in search of jobs,” Omar Abdullah said.

The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister also appealed to the voters of Baramulla to vote for him.

“I appeal to the people of Baramulla to come out in large numbers and vote. I will request them to choose the candidate who can go to Parliament and raise their issues. I will appeal to them to give me an opportunity so that I can represent and serve them,” he told ANI.

Notably, the BJP is not contesting from any of Jammu and Kashmir’s three Lok Sabha seats–Srinagar, Baramulla, and Anantnag.

The electoral battle remained between two major regional parties, the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP had six candidates in the fray in Jammu and Kashmir but failed to win a single seat in Kashmir.

Omar Abdullah is pitted against Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference (PC) and Mir Mohammad Fayaz of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Voting for the Udhampur and Jammu seats concluded on April 19 and 26, respectively, while in Srinagar, voting was done on May 13. The Baramulla seat will vote on May 20, while the Anantnag-Rajouri seat will vote on May 25.