Omar Abdullah warns against dangerous trend in Bengal poll process

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah warned that if the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls affects the West Bengal Assembly election outcome, it could create a dangerous precedent. He also criticised exit polls and commented on rising prices and unemployment issues

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday warned of a “dangerous trend” in the electoral process, saying that if the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls affects the outcome of the West Bengal Assembly elections, it would set a dangerous precedent against which political parties need to safeguard themselves.

Responding to questions about the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections and recent tensions outside a strong room in Kolkata, he emphasised that safeguarding EVMs after voting remains a critical responsibility for any party. Drawing a parallel with the era of physical ballot boxes, he noted that maintaining a presence outside strong rooms is a long-standing practice to ensure security.

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“We used to do the same when ballot boxes were there. We used to keep our people outside the strong room,” Abdullah said while defending the right of leaders like Mamata Banerjee to maintain such vigilance.

He maintained that while EVMs themselves may not be the primary tool for rigging, the integrity of the voter list remains the most vulnerable point in the system.

“Today, stealing (of votes) is not happening through the EVMs, but via the SIR, unfortunately through the Election Commission,” Abdullah told reporters after inaugurating flats built for government personnel here.

He warned that if the SIR successfully influences the election outcome in West Bengal, it would set a “very dangerous” precedent for all political parties.

The chief minister characterised the SIR process as a “huge challenge” for the opposition and alleged that the current method of “stealing” votes involved deletion of names from voter lists.

On exit polls, Abdullah said they would be proven wrong when the results come out on Monday.

“Which exit poll has been right till now? Five years ago, when the elections took place in West Bengal, all the exit polls had predicted a BJP government. But what was the result? We do not have to wait for long; the results will be out on Monday,” he said.

On the increase in airfares for the annual Haj pilgrimage, Abdullah said there would be a hike in everything as the Assembly elections were over now.

“Now that the elections are over, you see what else would be hiked. There is a hike in the prices of commercial gas cylinders. Fuel prices would increase, everything will increase,” he said.

Referring to an 18 per cent increase in public transport fares, he said his government was compelled to impose the hike.

“When fuel prices increase, wouldn’t the passenger fare increase? These people were anyway taking this fare from under the table, and people were giving it, but it became our compulsion to increase the fare. The solution is that this (Iran) war should end. This war should not have started. There was no basis or reason for this war,” he said.

Abdullah called for an immediate end to global conflicts to provide “respite” to people.

He expressed hope for a swift conclusion to the war involving Iran, stating that “better sense” must prevail in the United States to bring an end to the violence.

“The sooner better sense prevails upon the US, the better. It will not prevail on Israel as they do not have sense, so leave them,” Abdullah said.

The chief minister was speaking after inaugurating two new blocks of Estate Quarters at Sempora, located on the outskirts of Srinagar. The facility is designed to house government employees, a move Abdullah described as a core responsibility of the administration.

Abdullah proposed developing the Sempora area into a premier residential colony for employees, senior officials and legislators, modelled after Baba Kharak Singh Marg or New Moti Bagh in New Delhi.

He said that by relocating officials to the outskirts, the government plans to decongest the city and monetise prime central areas currently occupied by the MLA Hostel or Jawahar Nagar.

Responding to concerns over the lack of jobs, Abdullah acknowledged that unemployment remains a “huge issue” for Jammu and Kashmir but cautioned that government recruitment alone is not a sustainable solution.

He noted that no country or state has successfully ended unemployment solely through public sector jobs and said that while the government will “adjust as many youth” as possible, the primary focus is on encouraging a robust private sector.

Abdullah highlighted that the government has already provided around Rs 1,000 crore through soft loans and grants under the ‘Mission Yuva’ self-employment scheme to help youth establish their own business units.