'Fixed match': Sajad Lone on Rajya Sabha poll outcome

Srinagar, Oct 24: Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC) President and MLA Handwara Sajad Gani Lone has alleged that the recently concluded Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir were a “fixed match” between the National Conference (NC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Lone reacted sharply after BJP managed to win one of the four seats while the NC swept the remaining three.

“So BJP wins the fourth seat. As predicted — fixed match. Axis of the evil — NC and BJP. Thank God I abstained. Imagine what my plight would have been,” Lone wrote.

He further claimed that the voting pattern mathematically proved a pre-arranged understanding between the two parties. “Why did NC poll extra votes for candidate 3? They didn’t need to. They polled 31 votes for candidate 3. Only 28 or 29 would have sufficed since BJP was contesting for seat four,” he posted.

Lone also raised questions over cross-voting, rejected ballots, and the “possible hand-in-glove conduct” between the two sides, demanding that the entire voting process be scrutinized.

His remarks have sparked political debate across J&K, with observers terming the post-election reactions a reflection of widening divisions among opposition ranks.