Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Thursday said the Budgam bypoll verdict reflected “public resentment” over unfulfilled promises and dissatisfaction with the government’s performance, while describing the Nagrota outcome as “expected” since the seat was already with the BJP.
Commenting on the Bihar election results, J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission, alleging that the Chief Election Commissioner acted like “a block president of the BJP.” He claimed the poll process amounted to “open rigging” and involved “vote-for-money and money-for-vote.”
Karra said the Bihar results did not mirror the ground situation. “Rahul Gandhi campaigned extensively, but the results do not reflect what people expected at the national and state levels,” he said, adding that despite the setback, the Congress remained undeterred. “Our morale is high. We will continue to fight this vote theft. Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod’ campaign will be intensified.”
On the bypoll outcomes in J&K, Karra said Nagrota’s result was unsurprising, but the shift in Budgam signalled changing public sentiment. He said voters there had expressed their displeasure with the government through the ballot. He also criticised the chief minister for vacating the Budgam seat despite winning it with a higher lead after previously promising to retain the seat with the bigger margin.
BJP’s Devyani Rana won the Nagrota seat, while the PDP’s Aga Syed Muntazir emerged victorious in Budgam.
Karra also reiterated that the Congress’s statehood campaign had resonated strongly with the people. “We represent 1.40 crore people. Their voice is clear — they want statehood restored,” he said. He detailed the party’s ‘Hamara Riyasat, Hamara Haq’ initiative and subsequent movements including Jammu Chalo and Srinagar Chalo, as well as protests held in Delhi and a chain hunger strike.
He said the agitation was now entering a new phase. “We are taking this movement to the grassroots through the ‘Har Ghar Dastak, Ghar Ghar Dastak’ campaign, which we launched today by distributing pamphlets door to door,” he added.
