CM Omar congratulates NC winners

Srinagar, Oct 24: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday congratulated his party colleagues Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Sajad Ahmad Kichloo, and Gurwinder Singh Oberoi on their victory in the Rajya Sabha elections, even as he expressed disappointment over the defeat of party spokesman Imran Nabi Dar and raised serious questions about the possible cross-voting.

“Heartiest congratulations to my colleagues Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan Sahab, Sajad Ahmad Kichloo, and Shammi Oberoi on their victory in the Rajya Sabha polls. I wish them well as they begin a new innings representing the people of J&K in the Parliament of India,” Omar posted on microblogging site ‘X’.

In another post, Omar extended support to Imran Nabi Dar, who failed to secure a seat in the Upper House despite what he described as a strong campaign by the party.

“My heart goes out to my young colleague, Imran Nabi Dar. We put in our best effort to get him elected, but were let down at the last moment. It’s not easy to lose a hard-fought election, but I’m confident other opportunities will open up for him soon,” he said.

The NC Vice President also alleged discrepancies in the polling process and hinted at possible cross-voting in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“All of @JKNC_ votes remained intact across the four elections, as witnessed by our election agent, who saw each polling slip. There was no cross-voting from any of our MLAs, so the questions arise – where did the 4 extra votes of the BJP come from?” Omar posted.

He said that some MLAs might have “deliberately invalidated their votes by marking a wrong preference number,” indirectly aiding the BJP.

“Do they have the guts to put their hands up and own up to helping the BJP after promising us their votes? What pressure or inducement helped them make this choice? Let’s see if any of the BJP’s secret team own up to selling their souls!” Omar posted.