Omar Abdullah Alleges Jail Conspiracy in J&K Assembly Polls

Former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah claimed a conspiracy as prison inmates contest against him in the upcoming assembly elections. Abdullah is running for Ganderbal and Budgam seats, which will vote on September 25. He also suggested BJP might ally with lesser-known parties to form the government.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah on Saturday alleged a 'conspiracy' involving prison inmates contesting against him in the upcoming assembly elections. Abdullah is running for the Ganderbal and Budgam assembly seats, which will be contested in the second phase on September 25.

'They bring in people from jails to contest against me. Had this been a one-time thing, it could have been ignored. But now, with the assembly elections announced and my candidacy from Ganderbal declared, I again hear that someone from prison is contesting against me,' Abdullah stated. 'This person has nothing to do with Ganderbal. He might not even be able to locate Ganderbal on a map. I sense a conspiracy,' he added. Earlier, Abdullah suggested that the BJP could form a government with Engineer Rashid's party, Apni Party, Peoples Conference, and Awami Itehaad Party.

Speaking to party workers in the Shalbugh area of Ganderbal, Abdullah referred to a press conference by Home Minister Amit Shah in Jammu. 'During the press conference, Shah mentioned parties with which they will not form a government but omitted several others like Engineer Rashid's party, Apni Party, Peoples Conference, and Awami Itehaad Party. This implies that the BJP can form a government with them if it desires,' he said. Jammu and Kashmir have a total of 90 assembly constituencies, with 7 seats reserved for SCs and 9 for STs. According to the Election Commission of India, the region has 88.06 lakh eligible electors. These are the first assembly elections to be held in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

(With inputs from agencies.)