Final call on alliance to be taken once J&K poll dates are out: Farooq Abdullah

JKNC chief Farooq Abdullah, who also heads the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), said that the election plans won’t hamper the alliance’s unity

A day after the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) said that it will contest on all 90 assembly seats in the Union Territory alone, party president Farooq Abdullah clarified that the final decision on the matter will be taken only when the polling dates are announced.

JKNC president Farooq Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti during a press conference in Srinagar earlier this week. (Waseem Andrabi/ HT Photo)

Abdullah, who also heads the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), said that the election plans won’t hamper the alliance’s unity.

“NC is a democratic party and a democratic party can pass a resolution...but the final decision will be taken once elections are held in J&K,” Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar on Thursday.

The JKNC on Wednesday passed a resolution stating that it will go solo on all 90 seats in the polls, hinting that it may part ways with other PAGD members. The decision was taken during the meeting of the provincial committee of the NC, chaired by its vice-president Omar Abdullah.

The participants “expressed dismay over the recent statements, audio jingles and speeches targeting JKNC made by some of the constituents of the PAGD”.

Farooq Abdullah, however, said party leaders should learn to take criticism. “If if you don’t, you can’t do anything for your people,” he said.

Soon after the NC’s resolution, Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — an important member of Gupkar — said that the alliance was formed for a larger objective.

“PAGD was conceived for a much larger cause than just an electoral alliance. If some constituent of the alliance has reservations for any kind of electoral alliance, that will not impact our unity,” PDP chief spokesman Suhail Bukhari said.

PAGD spokesperson and CPI(M) general secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said there may be some misunderstandings, but the decision as to whether the alliance will contest alone or jointly will be taken when elections will be held.

“The PAGD is headed by Farooq Abdullah and it will remain togeather because our rights are at stake,” he said.

Besides the NC, the PAGD, which was formed on August 4, 2019, comprises PDP, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Awami National Conference and the Communist Party of India (CPI). The Peoples Conference, which was also part of the alliance, exited the group soon after the 2020 district development council (DDC) polls.

In the DDC elections, PAGD contested and won 110 seats out of the total 280, with the NC alone winning 67.