Lok Sabha polls 2024: Guns, stones and poll boycotts yielded nothing for Kashmiris, says Mehbooba Mufti

Srinagar: Urging people to come out in large numbers to cast their votes, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti Sunday said that guns, stones and poll boycotts in the past served no purpose.

"Guns, stones and election boycotts served no purpose for years. All of you must come out and take part in a democratic exercise so that the voice of people will reach the Parliament,” she said while addressing an election rally in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.

After1989, separatists and militant groups called for a poll boycott or issued threats during the elections. While separatists would launch election boycott campaigns, militants used to threaten candidates and voters.

The ongoing election is the first since 1989 when neither separatists nor militant groups have called any boycott.

Mehbooba appealed to the voters to desist all methods being used in the past and come out in large numbers without any fear to cast their votes.

Asked about the fate of People’s Alliance for Gupkar Deceleration (PAGD), she blamed the National Conference (NC) leadership for its failure.

“It was the NC leadership who didn't respond to the call of the hour. However, the NC cadre was willing that polls should have been fought together. Today I am happy to see cadres of different political parties, including NC and Congress, participating in my rallies,” Mehbooba said.

The NC and the PDP were two pillars of the PAGD, which once stood as a symbol of unity, a coalition built upon the shared ideals of regional autonomy and Kashmiri identity after the abrogation of the erstwhile state's special status under Article 370 on August 5, 2019.

However, public spats and internal rifts overshadowed the once-unified front, exposing the underlying power struggles and ideological differences that simmered beneath the surface with the two arch-rivals trading charges against each other publicly.

And in the ongoing elections, both the regional parties fielded candidates against each other which has almost put an end to the once formidable alliance.