Omar Abdullah made a statement soon after NC chief Farooq Abdullah announced that the party would participate in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and potential assembly polls in the Union Territory independently.
National Conference, a part of the INDIA grouping, clarified that it will continue to be so. Party leader Omar Abdullah stated that they are in discussions with the Congress for an arrangement in three of the six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Omar Abdullah said, “We were a part of the INDIA alliance and we still are. Things have been taken out of context. The main idea of the grouping is to defeat the BJP because there is no point in sailing in two boats.” He was accompanied by his father, Farooq Abdullah, the party’s Srinagar MP.
“NC workers want to fight elections on all six seats but the truth is that sometimes for a bigger objective, small sacrifices have to be made,” he added. “If the bigger objective is to win seats back from the BJP, it is necessary for the National Conference to enter into a seat sharing understanding with the Congress. Our doors are open,” the party’s vice president said.
Informal talks with the Congress are already on and there is scope for further discussions, he said. “Our commitment to the INDIA grouping remains even though the founding members of the alliance have unfortunately left over the past few weeks. We are not among those who will leave. We will continue our discussions with the Congress and hope to arrive at some agreement soon,” he said.
The six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh are Baramulla, Srinagar, Anantnag, Jammu, Udhampur, and Ladakh. Of these, the three seats in the Valley are with the NC, while the other three are with the BJP.
Omar Abdullah dismissed reports that Farooq Abdullah was hinting that the NC was not averse to joining the NDA as “mischievous and concocted.” He said his party’s job was to get the maximum number of seats in the assembly elections, as and when they are held, so the process of “undoing the damage done to Jammu and Kashmir by the BJP” can begin.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the union territory next week, Omar Abdullah said that they will also get to know how much development has happened in Jammu and Kashmir. He also mentioned the need for holding simultaneous elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
The National Conference has been a part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) grouping formed last year and comprises the Congress, AAP, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT), Trinamool Congress, DMK, Left parties among others. The upcoming parliamentary elections will be the first major electoral exercise after the special status of the erstwhile state was abrogated in August 2019.
Earlier in the day, Farooq Abdullah welcomed the Prime Minister’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir and expressed his views on the federal probe agency targeting opposition party leaders.
“I am myself under the ED scanner. I will appear before them, I am not scared of the ED or anyone else. Let them do what they want. If they think they can finish off the National Conference by jailing Farooq Abdullah, it will not happen because the National Conference is a movement,” he said.
Referring to the Supreme Court scrapping electoral bonds, Farooq Abdullah welcomed the verdict and said people have a right to know where the money for political parties is coming from.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)