Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and Opposition leader Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission over its conduct of the Bengal polls, with the PDP chief accusing it of subverting India’s electoral process.
Omar on Monday posted “bloody hell” on his X handle, with an emoticon reflecting shock amid a setback for Mamata Banerjee in Bengal and the M.K. Stalin-led government in Tamil Nadu, provoking strong opposition from the BJP.
Mehbooba, however, struck a belligerent note, accusing the poll panel of subverting electoral processes in the country.
“India was once admired as a global model for free and fair elections, especially after T.N. Seshan transformed ECI into a fearless guardian of democracy. Today, that very institution stands accused of subverting the electoral process, aided by central agencies,” Mehbooba wrote on X. “A tragic fall. We may not have become ‘Vishwaguru’, but we seem to have mastered the art of electoral manipulation. Bengal is the latest reminder of this disturbing reality.”
Omar told PTI that the EC’s role in Bengal had come under scrutiny because of “the way they went about the process of delimitation and finalisation of electoral rolls”, saying it raises questions. “I do believe that the Election Commission has done itself no favour in the way in which it has gone about both the process of delimitation and the process of finalisation of electoral rolls,” he said. He accused the poll panel of messing up the election process in Bengal.
Omar is already facing criticism from the BJP over his outburst after Monday’s electoral results. The leader of Opposition in the Assembly, the BJP’s Sunil Sharma, criticised the chief minister for his outburst, accusing him of disrespecting democratic processes and the public mandate. Sharma said the BJP had been making plans for over a year for the next Jammu and Kashmir elections, scheduled to be held in 2029.
Omar’s father and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said the people’s verdict in the recently declared election results in four states and one Union Territory must be respected.