Srinagar, April 20 (IANS): Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference President Sajad Lone on Saturday sought Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari's support in north Kashmir for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

“It is high time we unite to represent the true will of the majority in north Kashmir. We extend our hand to Apni Party, seeking their crucial support in Baramulla, just as we vow to back them in Srinagar to defeat the forces that have long betrayed the precious mandate of Kashmiris,” Sajad Lone said while addressing a press conference in Srinagar.

Presenting statistical analysis Lone explained NC's stranglehold on north Kashmir.

“Since 1975, with the sole exception of 1996 elections, an astonishing nine out of ten MPs from Baramulla Parliamentary Constituency have hailed from NC,” he said.

Lone attributed this to the fragmentation of votes, “While the NC's vote share has plummeted from a staggering 65 per cent in 1982 to a mere 29 per cent in 2019, they still emerged victorious due to the division among anti-NC votes,” he said.

He claimed that for every pro-NC vote, there are two and a half anti-NC votes and we must stop this division of votes.

He appealed to Bukhari not to field any candidate from the Baramulla constituency. He said his party would not field any candidate against the Apni Party candidate in Srinagar in support of the Apni Party.

Sajad Lone is fighting against former Chief Minister and NC Vice President, Omar Abdullah in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency.

Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency goes to vote on May 20.