Farooq Abdullah Says BJP Sought Deal on Fourth Seat, Rejects Claims of Cross-Voting – Alfaaz – The Words

Srinagar: National Conference (NC) President Dr Farooq Abdullah on Saturday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had approached the National Conference with a proposal to withdraw from the fourth Rajya Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir, a proposal, he said, the party refused before fielding all four candidates.

Speaking at Nawa-e-Subha, Farooq Abdullah dismissed allegations that NC lawmakers facilitated the BJP’s surprise win in one seat, calling the accusations “baseless and politically motivated.” “There was no question of gifting seven votes to the BJP. If that were true, how did our candidate secure 21 votes?” he said. “The party (NC) fought the election with full backing from the Congress, PDP, AIP and independents.”

He said the BJP requested that the NC contest only three seats but the offer was rejected. “We believed our alliance had the numbers. We contested every seat on principle,” he added.

Notably, NC won three Rajya Sabha seats, while BJP nominee Sat Sharma took the fourth, triggering a political row after one NC vote was rejected and several legislators allegedly cross-voted.

In the aftermath, Peoples Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone, Independent candidate Shabir Ahmed Kullay and Independent MLA Mehraj Malik were among those who raised questions over the voting pattern and demanded clarity on who helped the BJP secure additional support.