Chandigarh [India], September 25 : Congress leader Supriya Shrinate on Wednesday expressed confidence in the party's ability to win the Jammu and Kashmir election, saying that the strong voter turnout indicates a lack of trust in the "BJP's gimmicks" and a desire for change.
Shrinate also criticised the previous government of the Union Territory and highlighted the problem of mismanagement and unemployment in the region in the last decade.
"Breakthrough elections are going on in Jammu and Kashmir. J&K is electing for its future. There has been complete mismanagement and unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir for the last 10 years... Their resources have been distributed among outsiders. The statehood was taken away. It has never happened in the history of independent India that the status of state was reduced to a Union Territory... We are in a good position and the way the voter turnout has been, I think people don't trust BJP's gimmicks anymore and they are seeking change," Shrinate told ANI.
Earlier today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday reiterated that the opposition will use its full force to pressurise Centre to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.
Addressing a public rally in Sopore, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition said that for the first time in history, a state was downgraded into a 'union territory' and injustice was served to the people of the territory and the INDIA bloc will fight for its restoration.
"We wanted that the statehood be restored before elections. All the people of Jammu and Kashmir wanted the elections to take place after the restoration of the statehood. The first and foremost issue is regarding your statehood. Several UTs have been made states, and states have been bifurcated. But this is the first time in history that a state has been turned into a Union Territory. It did not happen, the first step is election. But after this, the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir has to be restored," Rahul Gandhi said.
The Congress party, in alliance with the National Conference, is competing for 32 seats, while the NC is vying for 51 of the 90 Assembly seats.
Assembly polls are being held in Jammu and Kashmir in three phases. Voting for the second phase is currently underway on Wednesday, with 26 constituencies across six districts of the Union Territory.
The first phase, held on September 18, recorded a voter turnout of 61.13 per cent across 24 constituencies in seven districts, according to the Election Commission.
Voting for the third phase will take place on October 1, with vote counting scheduled for October 8, alongside the counting of votes in Haryana.