The National Conference leaders, Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, asked the Election Commission on Friday not to postpone the election in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat. The appeal by the leaders was made after the poll body sought a report from the Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, and the Chief Electoral Officer on representations submitted by some parties and three candidates seeking rescheduling of elections in the constituency due to adverse weather conditions, including snowfall on the Mughal road. "I appeal to the EC that such a step should not be taken. The demand for postponement is not from all parties. The weird thing is that some of the people who have written to the EC are not contesting. If I write to the EC about constituencies in Tamil Nadu etc. will they take notice," he told a press conference in Srinagar. Speaking to the reporters in the Surankote area of Poonch district, Mehbooba said, "They all have ganged up against me because they do not want to see me in Parliament. The people, cutting across religious and party lines, are coming forward in my support and they are, therefore, using the Election Commission to defer and rig the elections". The PDP leader also said that she travelled through the Mughal road that was recently opened for traffic. "There is no justification in deferring voting in Anantnag-Rajouri seat. My request to the Election Commission is not to postpone the elections when only 10 days are left in the polling. This will send the wrong message and will have serious consequences," she said before leaving for Mendhar town to carry forward her campaign. Mufti referred to the alleged rigging in the 1987 assembly polls leading to the eruption of militancy in J-K, and said, "We request Election Commission not to do such an adventure as the people in J-K have already suffered a lot and have little faith left in the electoral process." She added that the former prime minister, A B Vajpayee, had to give an assurance to the people of J-K about the conduct of free and fair elections from the ramparts of the Red Fort and "They (BJP) are trying to make it stained once again...You have already not left much with the people of J-K except a vote. You are trying to repeat 1987 which caused bloodshed and turned the valley into a graveyard." Mehbooba said that they first reshaped the Anantnag parliamentary constituency, using delimitation as an attempt to rig the elections in their favour. "Dont they have knowledge that the Mughal road traditionally remains closed for six months but they joined parts on both sides of Pir Panjal just to rig elections? This is not happening anywhere else in the country," she said. Mufti also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a lot of money and can press helicopters in service for those they are supporting. "We are the only part which lacks resources and our workers are spending from their own pockets for the past 25 days which we cannot continue for the next 20 days in case polls are postponed." On being asked about the apprehensions of poll postponement in Anantnag-Rajouri, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the EC is an independent institution and whatever decision it takes with regard to elections in the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat will be followed by the BJP. The Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency will vote in the third phase of the poll scheduled for May 7. A total of 21 candidates, including Mehbooba, who is facing a major challenge from National Conference leader and former minister Mian Altaf, is also in the fray. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress president Vikar Rasool Wani claimed that the BJP and its B-teams have moved the Election Commission as they are facing "significant defeat" from the INDIA alliance candidate. (With input from agencies)