Jammu: Jailed AAP MLA Mehraj Malik on Saturday said he voted for National Conference (NC) candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls “in the larger interest of Jammu and Kashmir,” dismissing claims that he had supported BJP nominees.
Malik, who heads the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has been detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) since September 8 and is currently lodged in Kathua jail.
“Even after I voted for the NC from jail — without them ever reaching out to me or seeking my support — some of their leaders are now questioning my decision. This is the height of shamelessness,” Malik said in a statement shared by his party after an AAP delegation met him in prison.
He accused the NC of lacking seriousness about winning 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 voted for them, believing my vote could make a difference,” he added.
In Friday’s Rajya Sabha polls — the first since Jammu and Kashmir became a Union Territory in August 2019 — the ruling NC won three seats, while the BJP secured one. BJP’s Sat Sharma defeated NC’s Imran Nabi Dar with 32 votes against 22. NC’s Gurwinder Singh Oberoi also won under the same notification, while two other NC candidates triumphed in separate rounds.
“Unfortunately, I now realise that some within the NC were compromised and had already decided to side with the BJP. Their actions and statements today expose their hypocrisy and double standards,” Malik said.
He further alleged that those posing as “anti-BJP” were the same people maintaining friendly ties with BJP leader Sat Sharma.
Malik also criticised the NC for fielding a Muslim candidate from the Nagrota Assembly seat, which goes to bypolls on November 11, claiming it would only “help the BJP consolidate its position” — a move that, according to him, reveals the ruling party’s “true loyalties.”
“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,” his statement concluded.
