Srinagar, Omar Abdullah, Vice President of the National Conference, has contested the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) claims that the armed resistance in occupied Jammu and Kashmir was due to the special status under Article 370 of the Indian constitution. He argues that the real catalyst was the rigged assembly elections of 1987.

According to Kashmir Media Service, Omar Abdullah emphasized that the origins of the turmoil in occupied Jammu and Kashmir can be traced back to the electoral manipulation by the Indian state machinery in 1987. He questioned the logic of the BJP’s claim by pointing out that if Article 370 was indeed the root cause of militancy, then the armed resistance should have commenced in 1950 when Article 370 was implemented, not in 1987.

Abdullah referred to the establishment of the Muslim United Front, a coalition formed to contest the 1987 elections with the primary goal of securing a verdict against India’s illegal occupation from the floor of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly. The unexpected alteration of election results overnight, in favor of pro-India political parties, played a pivotal role in altering the course of events in the region.

The NC leader highlighted that the candidates from the Muslim United Front, who were leading in the polls, were declared losers the following day, leading to widespread astonishment and disillusionment among the Kashmiri populace. This drastic shift in the political landscape, Abdullah, was a turning point that ultimately led to the onset of armed resistance in the occupied territory in 1988.

Omar Abdullah’s statement provides a different perspective on the genesis of the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, challenging the narrative that has often been propagated by the BJP regarding the role of Article 370.