Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Oct 24: In a rare display of political camaraderie, workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and National Conference (NC) were seen celebrating face-to-face outside the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar on Friday late evening after the announcement of the Rajya Sabha election results.
At the gate of the Secretariat, celebrations turned frenzied as the results of all seats were declared. BJP supporters, after hearing of their unexpected win on the fourth seat, arrived and began dancing and shouting slogans in front of NC supporters.
Eyewitnesses present at the scene said that around 5 PM, supporters of the ruling National Conference started arriving at the Secretariat gate in Srinagar, holding party flags and raising slogans for their candidates.
They said the atmosphere turned tense as the results began coming out from the Secretariat, and with NC’s victory on two seats declared, the crowd outside started shouting slogans of “Zoun Ho, Zoun Ho”.
“As the results for the remaining third and fourth seats were announced, and BJP’s unexpected win over one seat was declared, party workers arrived in vehicles, dancing and chanting ‘Modi, Modi’, which electrified the atmosphere,” eyewitnesses said, adding that within minutes, both parties’ supporters, initially gathered in separate groups—broke into cheers almost simultaneously.
The eyewitnesses added that while NC supporters celebrated the victory of their three candidates, BJP workers erupted in jubilation after their leader and UT President Sat Sharma secured an unexpected win on the fourth seat.
Soon, the festive atmosphere turned into a scene of flag-waving from both sides, with supporters of both parties seen shouting for their party and waving flags in front of the Civil Secretariat.
“Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi” echoed from one side, while “Zoun Ho Zoun Ho” resonated from the other, as the slogans and chants of NC and BJP supporters filled the air outside the Secretariat in Srinagar.
Later, following the celebrations, BJP workers moved to the party headquarters in Jawahar Nagar, where Sat Sharma arrived along with senior party leaders, including Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma and several BJP MLAs, to continue the celebrations.
Meanwhile, from the National Conference side, Chief Minister and NC Vice President Omar Abdullah, along with other MLAs who had been present inside the Secretariat since morning, came out in their vehicles after winning three seats.
Eyewitnesses said that the convoy of vehicles drove straight past the press gathered at the gate. They added that the mood of the Chief Minister and others appeared low after the BJP’s victory on the fourth seat, which shook NC’s dream of a clean sweep.
As per the official results, the National Conference bagged three Rajya Sabha seats, while the BJP secured one, marking a surprising twist in the political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir.
