Azhar's blacklisting helpful for BJP re election says Omar Abdullah

Omar Abdullah

In tweets, Abdullah also took a swipe at Congress saying that its leadership has not held a single election meeting in Jammu and Kashmir and it speaks a lot about the party and its approach to Jammu and Kashmir.

"The rest of the Opposition must be wondering if it will ever catch a break. Every time the BJP campaign seems to be flagging, it gets a shot in the arm. The Masood Azhar development in the UN couldn't have come at a better time for the Modi ji's re-election campaign", Abdullah said in a tweet on Wednesday after Azhar was blacklisted.

The BJP on Thursday tomtomed Azhar's blacklisting saying it "a big victory" for India and its diplomacy under the BJP-led government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's zero-tolerance policy on terror had borne fruit.

While BJP's stance on nationalism got a boost following air strikes on a terror camp in Pakistan in February, the party also sought to convey that it has tough approach towards economic fugitives Vijay Mallaya and Nirav Modi who are in the United Kingdom.

The UK High Court had last month denied Mallya permission to appeal against his extradition order to India. Nirav Modi's bail plea was rejected by a London court and it extended till May 24 his judicial custody as it suspected that he could flee Britain and "interfere with witnesses".

Modi had in March also announced India's successful anti-satellite missile test.

However, the Opposition campaign has not got a boost by any outside factors. On the other hand, Congress President Rahul Gandhi was caught in a legal case following a petition by BJP leader Meenkashi Lekhi and expressed regret to the Supreme Court for erroneously attributing his "Chowkidar chor hai" to the court. Gandhi is expected to file another affidavit in the court in which he may tender explicit apology.

Abdullah frowned at his party's ally Congress in tweets on Thursday saying its "leadership" has not held even a single election meeting in Jammu and Kashmir and had given a "walkover" to BJP as far as the "optics of the campaign" were concerned.

"It says a lot about the Congress and its approach to J&K. There hasn't been a single election meeting by its leadership," he tweeted to vent out his anger.

"Contrast this with the number of rallies addressed by (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and (BJP President) Amit Shah. They may not have come to the (Kashmir) Valley, but they didn't ignore the state," Abdullah said.

He was clearly referring to a number of rallies addressed by Modi and Shah in Jammu region during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

Stating that the Congress had a fighting chance in four of the six seats and in three, the main opponent was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Abdullah said, "It's inexplicable how the BJP was simply given a walkover as far as the optics of the campaign were concerned."

His comments assume significance as the NC and the Congress have an alliance for the Lok Sabha elections in the state.

While the Congress did not field a candidate against NC President Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar, the NC responded by leaving Jammu and Udhampur seats for the Congress. They are having a "friendly contest" in Baramulla and Anantnag seats.

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