Srinagar, Oct 25: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said while no one should have complaints about the 3-1 scoreline for the National Conference over the BJP in the Rajya Sabha elections held, his party faced “betrayal” from some quarters at the last moment during polling on Friday.
The ruling National Conference (NC) won three seats, while the BJP managed one in the first Rajya Sabha elections held in Jammu and Kashmir after it became a Union territory in 2019.
Speaking to reporters after inaugurating a chrysanthemum garden here, Abdullah also said that the non-BJP MLAs who supported the saffron party in the polls should have the courage to openly state that they helped the party win one of the four seats.
“No one should have complaints about the 3-1 result. We tried our best to make it 4-0, but as I said in my X post (on Friday), we faced betrayal from some quarters at the last moment. Almost everyone now knows the names of those who betrayed us. I do not think it is necessary to repeat here, but it was regretful,” Abdullah said.
The chief minister, however, expressed satisfaction that all the NC votes remained intact and went to the party candidates only.
“I thank all those who voted in favour of the NC, especially the Congress and other colleagues. I regret those who betrayed us at the last moment. But I am satisfied that not a single NC vote went to others. All the (NC) voters showed their polling slips to our chief agent, and not a single vote of NC was wasted,” the chief minister said.
Asked if it was a matter of concern that the BJP secured four votes from non-BJP members, Abdullah said the only concern is that “those MLAs who used to attend NC meetings and eat together mingled with the BJP”.
Such people should show some courage and state openly that they wanted to support the BJP, he said.
“The way the Handwara MLA (Sajad Lone) did. He did not want to vote against the BJP, and is now making reels like a professor. But he had some compulsion… He did not want to harm the BJP and openly boycotted the elections by abstaining.
“But those who secretly helped the BJP, they should have the courage to openly state that either they voted in favour of the BJP or invalidated their vote to help the party,” Abdullah said.
Asked if he would thank the PDP for its support, the chief minister expressed gratitude to “whoever voted for the NC and whoever worked hard for the success of the party candidates”.
He also asserted that the NC MPs would talk about every issue the people of J-K face, including restoration of statehood and special status.
“Not only statehood, they will also talk about the resolution we passed in the Assembly about special status and constitutional guarantees. They will also raise the other issues of the people of J-K,” he said.
Referring to the chrysanthemum garden, the chief minister said it would extend the tourist season in the Valley.
“Our endeavour has always been to increase our tourism season. The Tulip Garden advance our tourist season, and this garden will extend it. Just like we started the Tulip Garden and then expanded it to have Asia’s largest such garden, we will have more and more chrysanthemum bloom every season,” he said. (Agencies)
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