Lok Sabha elections: NC left PDP midway, forced us to contest independently: Mehbooba

Srinagar, Apr 03: The political landscape in Jammu and Kashmir is heating up as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference (NC), erstwhile allies in the ‘INDIA bloc’ prepare to contest against each other on the three Lok Sabha seats in the valley.
The rift between the two parties intensified after PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti accused the NC vice president Omar Abdullah of leaving them with no choice but to field candidates.
Mufti on Wednesday said the NC had left no other option for the party other than to contest the election on the three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir.
Speaking to reporters here, she said the NC had left no option for the party but to fight the elections alone. Omar’s disrespect remarks towards the PDP forced us to contest the election independently, she said.
“In the Mumbai meeting of the INDIA bloc, I had given an opinion that NC President Farooq Abdullah would decide on the candidates for the parliamentary elections, “but the way Omar Abdullah humiliated the PDP was sad and pushed our party too far”, she said.
Mehbooba said if Farooq or Omar had talked to the PDP leaders about contesting in three seats together, they would have agreed. But the way they disrespected the PDP hurt the workers, so they decided to go it alone, she added.
“Omar Abdullah’s tone against the PDP was harsh, which was unfortunate and it created a lot of confusion in the party. I had hoped he would keep the party interests aside but the NC decided to contest all three seats in Kashmir unilaterally,” she said, adding, “PDP will contest elections from Anantnag-Rajouri and Srinagar seats in Kashmir adding that the party leadership will hold deliberations with regard to Baramulla seat.
Mehbooba said the PDP will not contest in two seats in Jammu, but they are talking about competing in three seats in Kashmir. We will announce the candidates within two days, she said.
On Tuesday, Omar Abdullah criticised the media for trying to cause problems between the NC and PDP. He said the National Conference’s decision to compete in all three Kashmir seats was based on past election results.
Two days ago, the National Conference chose Mian Altaf as their candidate for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat while DPAP opted for Ghulam Nabi Azad and BJP has not announced their candidate yet.