Omar Abdullah of the National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have conceded defeat in the Lok Sabha polls from Baramulla and Anantnag -Rajouri respectively, although the counting of votes is going on.
Abdullah is trailing by more than 14,30,000 votes against Engineer Rashid of Awami Itehad Party, contesting from jail. Rashid has been in NIA custody since 2019 on charges of money laundering.
Rashid has so far polled 3,10,221 votes and Abdullah 1,66,678 till 2.30 pm. People's Conference chairman Sajad Lone has polled 1,07,863 so far, standing in third spot.
In a post on X, Abdullah congratulated Rashid for his victory in Baramulla. "I think it’s time to accept the inevitable. Congratulations to Engineer Rashid for his victory in North Kashmir. I don’t believe his victory will hasten his release from prison nor will the people of North Kashmir get the representation they have a right to but the voters have spoken and in a democracy that’s all that matters," he said.
In another post, he congratulated his party colleagues Mian Altaf and Aga Ruhullah who are leading by large margins in Anantnag-Rajouri and Srinagar constituencies respectively.
"To my @JKNC colleagues...my heartfelt congratulations. I’m sorry I won’t be joining them in the Lok Sabha but I’m sure both of them will do an amazing job representing the people of J&K," he said.
Mufti, trailing by over 2.30 lakh votes in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency against Altaf, in a post on X, said, "Respecting the verdict of the people I thank my PDP workers & leaders for their hard work & support despite all the odds. My deepest gratitude to the people who voted for me. Winning & losing is part of the game & won't deter us from our path. Congratulations to Mian Sahab for his victory," Mehbooba Mufti said.
