Winning or losing polls part and parcel of democracy: PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti on assembly election results

Mehbooba Mufti. File Pic

Undeterred after the Congress suffered drubbings in three of the five states that went to polls last month, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and the supremo of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Mehbooba Mufti, it's partner in the INDIA bloc, on Sunday said winning or losing elections in part of a democracy and the Opposition alliance will come up with a better performance in the Lok Sabha elections next year.

To a question on whether the BJP's resounding wins in three of the four states -- Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan -- is a setback for the Opposition bloc as it bids to unseat the BJP at the centre in 2024, the PDP chief told reporters, "Winning or losing an election is a part and parcel of democracy. On one side, there is Opposition and on the other is the government of the day, with money power as well as agencies at its disposal. The Election Commission, too, is working as per their dictates."

"The wins and losses in elections have to be viewed in this context," the former Jammu and Kashmir CM told reporters on a visit to Kupwara on Sunday. She added that she was hopeful of the INDIA bloc faring much better in 2024. Taking a swipe at the administration in the Union Territory (UT), the PDP chief also alleged a shortage in electricity supply and rising unemployment.

"Voices of protests are being stifled and the people are not being allowed to put forward their opinions," she alleged. Meanwhile, the ruling BJP, led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, stormed back to the hustings in Madhya Pradesh, bucking the perceived anti-incumbency of close to two decades. Further defying the exit-poll projections that had pointed to a close finish in neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the saffron party secured a brute majority in both states.

The Congress, however, swept Telangana, bringing to an end the 10-year rule of the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), previously known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi, headed by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. KCR had been in power since 2014 when Telangana was carved out as a separate state from the undivided Andhra Pradesh. The polling in five states -- Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram -- was held from November 7 to November 30.

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