Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on Thursday mocked at the claim of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that BJP has risen in Jammu and Kashmir due to the failure of the National Conference.In a statement here the BJP’s Kashmir spokesman Khalid Jehangir said, “The BJP is a national party and has its base all over the country. It has not risen due to the failures of any single party.”He said, “The PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed is by conviction a Congress man. He couldn’t win a single election till 2003. The BJP regime led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee held free and fair elections in Jammu and Kashmir in 2002 which paved the way for emergence of the PDP in JK. It was due to Vajpayee that Mufti won his first election in JK and became a MLA and the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Jehangir said that growing popularity graph of the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir has unnerved PDP. “BJP is emerging as a strong alternative for the people of Jammu and Kashmir as they want to get rid of the family raaj. People have realized that Abdullah’s turned JK into their fiefdom. Masses don’t want another family to take over from Abdullah’s that is why they are looking towards BJP,” he added.Jehangir said that BJP has made inroads in the Kashmir region and many people from Kashmir too are joining the party. “Masses showing inclination towards the BJP has frustrated the PDP,” he said. “We are working hard to achieve mission 44 plus and we are confident about turning the tables on the parties which claim to be the messiahs’ of JK,” he added. (CNS)