Questions Omar Abdullah’s remarks about PDP’s strength
Srinagar: Ending the suspense, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President, Mehbooba Mufti today announced that her party will field from all the three Lok Sabha constituencies of Kashmir.
Addressing media persons here today, Mufti said that the National Conference (NC) has left no option for the party other than to field candidates and contest elections.
Mufti said the need of the hour for the political parties in Jammu and Kashmir was to remain united after the Centre revoked the erstwhile state’s special status in August 2019.
“Youth are in jails, we cannot raise our voices, even the family members of employees cannot say anything. There is an atmosphere of oppression here. So, in such an atmosphere, it was imperative for us to stand united,” she said.
The former J&K chief minister, however, said the attitude of the NC leadership was disappointing and hurtful.
“When the INDIA alliance’s meeting took place in Mumbai, I said there that since (NC president) Farooq Abdullah is our senior leader, he will take a decision (on seat-sharing) and will do justice. I had hoped he would keep the party interests aside,” she said.
But the NC unilaterally took the decision to contest all the three seats in Kashmir, she added.
Mufti said if the NC had approached her and consulted the PDP before announcing the decision, her party could have decided not to field candidates in the larger interests of Kashmir.
“But, the way Omar (Abdullah) announced the decision without taking us into confidence, and by saying that the PDP has no workers or support so they will not get a single seat, it hurt my workers and broke their hearts,” she added.
She was referring to Omar Abdullah’s March 8 press conference in which he announced that the NC would contest from all three seats in the valley and will not leave any for its INDIA bloc partner the PDP.
“Omar Sahib said that PDP exists nowhere, if it is so, why NC needs support of a ‘non existing party,” questioned Mufti.
With Mufti’s announcement, PDP and NC, two INDIA bloc partners in Jammu and Kashmir — will be taking on each other on the three Lok Sabha seats in the valley.
Meanwhile, Omar Abdullah hit back saying the PDP was going back on the understanding reached between the constituents of People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) for the District Development Council (DDC) elections in 2020.
Abdullah, on his part, said he had not “made any remarks about her party and, therefore, I have nothing to say on this”. The PDP was going back on the understanding reached for the DDC polls where the parties having won the seats would field their candidates, he said.
“What can I say about this? It is their own will. How can I stop them? We announced candidates for the three seats of Kashmir based on their own formula,” the former chief minister of J&K said.
When the DDC elections took place, the NC had asked the PDP that seat-sharing should be done on the basis of the results of the 2109 parliamentary elections but the latter did not accept that, Omar Abdullah said.
“They told us that the candidates will be decided on the basis of the 2014 assembly polls. The decision was made that whoever had won the assembly seat will contest from that seat. So, in this parliamentary poll, the same formula was applied. Wherefrom we had won, we decided to field candidates,” he added.
Abdullah said since there was no scope for seat-sharing with the PDP in the parliamentary polls, “we would keep a scope for the assembly elections”.
“But, now if Mehbooba Mufti has decided to contest on all seats, then perhaps she does not want an alliance for the assembly polls as well. In that case, I cannot say anything. We had kept the doors open, but if they are closing those doors, it is not our fault,” he added.
