Voted for NC candidates in Rajya Sabha polls in larger interest of J&K: Jailed AAP MLA

Jammu: Jailed AAP MLA Mehraj Malik on Saturday said he voted for the NC candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls in the "larger interest" of Jammu and Kashmir, setting at rest claims that he was among those who voted in favour of the BJP candidates.

Malik, who is the president of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) on September 8 and is currently lodged in the Kathua jail.

"Even after casting my vote for the NC from jail without them ever reaching out or making the slightest effort to seek my support I am now being questioned by some of their leaders. This is the absolute height of shamelessness.

"Let me make it clear: the National Conference was never serious about winning this (the fourth) Rajya Sabha seat. They neither approached me nor showed any intent to build consensus. Still, keeping the larger interests of Jammu and Kashmir in mind, I chose to vote for them believing my vote could make a difference," Malik said in a statement that was uploaded on social media by his party after a meeting with him in the prison.

On Friday, the ruling NC won three seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured one seat in the first Rajya Sabha polls held in Jammu and Kashmir after it became a Union Territory in August 2019.

Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Sat Sharma defeated NC candidate Imran Nabi Dar by securing 32 votes against his opponent's 22 in the third notification. NC's Gurwinder Singh Oberoi also got elected under this notification by securing 31 votes, while two other NC members emerged victorious on the two remaining seats that went to polls under separate notifications.

"Unfortunately, now I realised that some among them were already compromised and had decided to side with the BJP. Today, their actions and statements only expose their hypocrisy and double standards," Malik said in the statement.

He said those pretending to be "anti-BJP are the same ones proving their friendship with Sat Sharma".

Moreover, the AAP leader claimed that by fielding a Muslim candidate from the Nagrota Assembly segment, which is slated to go to bypolls on November 11, the NC is only "helping" the BJP consolidate its position, a move that clearly shows where the ruling party's "true loyalties lie".

"The people of Jammu and Kashmir can now see through this political drama. History will remember who truly stood firm and who surrendered for personal gains," the statement said.