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PDP likely to field candidates on all 3 Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Communist Party of India (CPI Marxist) leader and Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) spokesperson MY Tarigami and Awami National Conference vice-president Muzaffar Shah, who is also nephew of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, are making last ditch efforts to save the alliance in J&K
While efforts are underway to save the INDIA bloc in Jammu and Kashmir, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has almost finalised candidates for Valley’s three Lok Sabha seats as “plan B”, party insiders aware of the developments said.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Communist Party of India (CPI Marxist) leader and Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) spokesperson MY Tarigami and Awami National Conference vice-president Muzaffar Shah, who is also nephew of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, are making last ditch efforts to save the alliance in J&K.
The cracks began to appear after NC vice-president Omar Abdullah said the party will contest from all the three seats of Kashmir and ruled out leaving Anantnag parliamentary seat for the Peoples Democratic Party.
“We can accommodate the PDP in assembly elections. We can’t leave seats for the PDP as they came third in south Kashmir in last elections,” a senior NC leader said.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, while expressing disappointment over the NC’s decision, had said that after consultation with Congress, they will chalk out future programme.
“We are down but not out,” she said in response to the NC vice-president Omar Abdullah’s remarks.
Sources within the PDP said that party will wait for Congress and other Gupkar Alliance partners and expressed hope that there could be a breakthrough which will see INDIA bloc and PAGD contesting polls jointly.
The PDP parliamentary board has finalised three candidates for the Lok Sabha elections who will contest as if the alliance breaks in J&K, a senior party leader, requesting anonymity, said.
According to those privy of the developments, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti would contest from the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat and party youth president Waheed ur Rehman Parra will be the candidate from Srinagar. They added that the party’s additional spokesperson and former trade union leader Mohammad Rafeeq Rather was likely to contest from the Baramulla seat.
“The party’s plan B is ready but still we want INDIA bloc to contest jointly as the situation in J&K and Ladakh has completely changed post abrogation of Article 370. The onus to save the alliance lies with all the political parties and not only the PDP, which has already given sacrifices and won’t hesitate to have more sacrifices,” a senior PDP leader said.
In 2019, the NC had won all three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir. Omar Abdullah on Monday said that the party would not sacrifice on the seats they had won in the last elections.
However, in 2014, the PDP also won three Lok Sabha seats in the Valley. In 2019, Mehbooba stood third on the Anantnag seat, with NC and the Congress as first and second.
