NC didn't field candidates in Jammu, Ladakh regions fearing defeat: BJP

The BJP Wednesday took a dig at the National Conference, saying it did not filed candidates in Jammu and Ladakh regions fearing a rout at the hands of the saffron party.

J&K BJP spokesperson Brig Anil Gupta (retd) told reporters here that the NC got just seven per cent vote in the Lok Sabha polls and is "rattled and unnerved" as the BJP secured a massive 46 per cent.

According to Election Commission data, the BJP, which won three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, secured 46.4 per cent votes, its highest-ever vote share of in the state.

The National Conference, which bagged three seats in the Kashmir region, got just 7.89 per cent votes.

"Sensing that they are in danger, the NC is trying to lure people through lollipop politics by promising regional councils, which it strongly opposed in the past," Gupta added.

"The NC leadership has begun its ugly campaign of lies and falsehood to mislead the people, as a prelude to its campaign for the assembly elections," he said.

Reacting to NC provincial president Devender Rana's statement on Tuesday that his party will surpass its 1996 tally of 57 seats in the state assembly, Gupta said much water has flown in the Jhelum and Tawi rivers since then, including massive floods which washed away the NC from the political scene of the state.

Rana said the poll outcome on the seats the NC contested is "testimony of the public support" the party enjoys.

Gupta said, "The party (NC) did not field candidates (against BJP in LS polls) in Jammu and Ladakh regions for fear of a defeat (in 2014 and 2019). They don't have cadres and candidates. With a mere 7 per cent vote share, how can the party claim to be a voice of the majority?"