New Delhi- The Congress and the National Conference on Monday announced they will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, in alliance, with both parties contesting three seats each.
At a joint press conference here alongside Congress leaders Salman Khurshid and Pawan Khera, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said the Congress would contest Udhampur, Jammu and Ladakh Lok Sabha seats while the National Conference would field candidates in Anantnag, Srinagar and Baramulla.
The announcement comes a day after Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president named her party’s candidates for three seats of the Kashmir Valley, signalling a breakdown of seat-sharing talks with the INDIA bloc partners.
Asked about seat-sharing talks not succeeding with the PDP, the Congress’ national alliance committee member Khurshid said the Mehbooba Mufti-led party is very much part of the INDIA bloc but seat-sharing with it could not be worked out.
Abdullah said, “I want to formally announce that the National Conference and Congress will jointly contest the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh with the two parties fielding candidates on three seats each.”
“The National Conference will support Congress candidates in Udhampur, Jammu and Ladakh seats. The INDIA bloc will contest the polls to help fulfil the aspirations of people of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh and truly represent them in Parliament,” he said.
Responding to a query about the PDP, Khurshid said, “The PDP is in our alliance. Seat adjustment is one part of the alliance and an overall alliance is a different issue. Since Jammu and Kashmir is small in area, there is not much scope for seat adjustment despite our best efforts.”
“The National Conference already has three Lok Sabha MPs and we have decided to give them a chance,” he said.
On whether the Congress-NC alliance would be there for the assembly polls also, Abdullah said their focus right now was on succeeding in the Lok Sabha polls.
He said holding assembly polls has been virtually decided with the remarks of the Chief Election Commissioner and that of Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the poll process would be completed before the Supreme Court-mandated date of September 30.
Abdullah also took a swipe at DPAP president Ghulam Nabi Azad, saying he was directly helping the BJP. He also wondered why Azad, who hails from Doda, was contesting from Anantnag.
On claims that Azad has said that he has not decided on where he would contest, Abdullah said his remarks would appear to be “dishonest” as his party has made announcements about the seats.
“If he is not contesting, it would suggest that the BJP has calculated that him contesting from (Anantnag) would be detrimental to their chances,” Abdullah said.
“Either way, it is shaping up to be an interesting election and the BJP is pulling out all the stops in Kashmir to bring various parties on a single platform. The visuals of the BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh coming out of Altaf Bukhari’s residence in Srinagar make it obvious what the BJP and its allies are going to do there. Our interest as allies is that the BJP’s plans fail entirely in all six seats,” the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.
He exuded confidence that the situation was in the favour of the INDIA bloc in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh and the opposition alliance would win all six seats.
Abdullah also dismissed Prime Minister Modi’s claim of the BJP winning 370 seats and NDA 400 in the Lok Sabha polls, saying it shows that he is “rattled”.
The PDP has named candidates for three seats in Kashmir, fielding Mehbooba Mufti against Ghulam Nabi Azad in Anantnag. The Congress has named Lal Singh as its candidate from Udhampur to take on Union Minister Jitendra Singh.
Farooq Hails Congress Manifesto
The Congress manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections aims to make the country stronger and maintain its secular credentials, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said on Monday.
“I don’t think the manifesto is to break the country. I think the manifesto is to make the country strong and to keep it secular. That is what it is,” Abdullah told reporters when asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Muslim League imprint” remarks on the manifesto.
“Anyone who thinks otherwise, they are already dividing the nation in their own way,” Abdullah said.
Modi had earlier attacked the Congress, charging that its poll manifesto bore the imprint of the Muslim League and utterances of its leaders showed hostility towards national integrity and Sanatan Dharma.
The National Conference and the Congress are members of the opposition INDIA bloc, formed to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
Abdullah also said the people of Jammu and Kashmir know what his party stands for after People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti targeted the National Conference.
“She can say what she likes to say. People know what we stand for and, beyond that, I don’t need to express anything,” he added.
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