On Friday, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced that the era of “dictatorship” is over, expressing confidence that the opposition in the new Lok Sabha will be more robust.
Speaking to reporters, the former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir highlighted that the recent election results have preserved the Constitution and strengthened democratic processes.
“This time, there will be a strong opposition. During my time in Parliament, we were weak, and our voices were often ignored under a dictatorial atmosphere. But thank God, that period is behind us now,” Abdullah said in response to a query about the potential strength of the new opposition compared to the previous one.
When asked about the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) forming the government for a third consecutive term, Abdullah, who represented Srinagar in the last Lok Sabha, commented, “Let them form the government, and then we will see.”
Regarding the success of the new NDA government, Abdullah suggested a wait-and-see approach: “Let’s wait and see what happens. You and I are both in the media; we will witness it together. Why rush to conclusions?”
Reflecting on the results of the Parliamentary elections, Abdullah underscored the power of the people: “The voters have spoken. They demonstrated that the ultimate power lies with the people, as evidenced by these elections. This is a significant milestone. The electorate has the ability to make or break political entities.”
Addressing the inaccuracies of the exit polls, which had predicted a substantial majority for the BJP, the NC president criticized the pollsters, suggesting they should cease their operations and issue apologies: “Those who claimed a landslide victory of 370-400 seats should stop conducting exit polls. They should close down their operations and apologize to the public for creating false expectations.”