Srinagar: The National Conference is a part of the INDIA bloc and will continue to be so, party leader Omar Abdullah clarified on Thursday and said the party was in talks with the Congress for an arrangement in three of the six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
“…I would like to make it very clear that 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.
His statement came shortly after NC chief Farooq Abdullah told reporters that the party would contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and possible Assembly polls in the Union Territory on its own.
“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,” Omar Abdullah said with his father, also the party’s Srinagar MP, by his side.
Farooq Abdullah, he said, was echoing the general sentiments of party workers. “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.”
“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.
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 — Baramulla, Srinagar, Anantnag — are with the NC. The other three are with the BJP.
“…Once we make friends, we stick to that…I would like to make it categorically clear that no door, no window and not even a crack is open for NDA,” Omar Abdullah said, dismissing reports that Farooq Abdullah was hinting that the NC was not averse to joining the NDA as “mischievous and concocted”.
He further clarified that there was no possibility of his party joining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. “Conspiracies are hatched and statements are presented in a distorted manner,” he said.
On the assembly elections, Omar Abdullah said the NC would want to win enough seats to undo the changes made by the BJP.
(With PTI inputs)
