Sajad Lone seeks Apni Party support to consolidate anti-National Conference votes in Baramulla

Srinagar, April 20

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People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone on Saturday sought support from the Apni Party to consolidate all anti-National Conference votes in north Kashmir.

Lone, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from north Kashmir’s Baramulla seat, claimed the National Conference (NC) benefits from the fragmentation of votes. He is contesting against Omar Abdullah, NC vice-president and former chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state.

“I appeal to (Apni Party chief) Altaf Bukhari, let us stop the division of votes in north Kashmir and let them support us there,” Lone said at a press conference.

The People’s Conference assures its 100 per cent support to the Apni Party in Srinagar in return, he said.

“We will support them unconditionally in Srinagar,” he added.

The People’s Conference chairman claimed NC has won nine out of 10 times from the Baramulla seat since 1975, except in 1996, mainly because of the fragmentation of votes.

“While the NC’s vote share has plummeted from a staggering 65 per cent in 1982 to a mere 29 per cent in 2019, they still emerged victorious due to the division of anti-NC votes,” he said.

Citing the 2019 elections as an example, Lone said although NC secured only 1,33,426 votes out of the 455,999 votes cast.

“This means NC secured a paltry 29 per cent of the votes, while a resounding 71 per cent of voters rejected them. For every single vote cast in their favour, 2.5 votes were cast against them,” he said.

“I appeal to Bukhari to not field a candidate in the north to avoid the fragmentation of votes,” Lone added.

He said the People’s Conference leadership had engaged in “constructive discussions” with the Apni Party representatives and for now, their focus remains solely on forging a strategic alliance with the Altaf Bukhari-led party.

Baramulla goes to the polls in the fifth phase on May 20 while Srinagar will vote in the fourth phase on May 13.