Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), the grouping of major regional parties of Jammu & Kashmir, on Friday released the fourth list of its 16 candidates for the District Development Council (DDC) polls. No Congress candidate is on the list, which PAGD chief Farooq Abdullah released.
The list includes seven People’s Democratic Party (PDP), four National Conference, two Communist Party of India (Marxist) and one each Peoples Conference, Awami National Conference, and the Peoples Movement candidates.
Only second of the PAGD’s lists included Congress candidates. Congress leaders attended a couple of PAGD meetings but the party’s central leadership has denied having any alliance with PAGD. The Congress has asked its Jammu & Kashmir unit to contest the elections on its own. Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir has said the party has alliances with parties, which are part of the PAGD on a seat-to-seat basis.
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A PAGD leader said they expected the Congress would not remain a part of the alliance. “The Congress’s local leadership, despite knowing the ground situation, cannot do anything once the central leadership has denied the alliance.”
{{/usCountry}}A PAGD leader said they expected the Congress would not remain a part of the alliance. “The Congress’s local leadership, despite knowing the ground situation, cannot do anything once the central leadership has denied the alliance.”
{{/usCountry}}Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday attacked the six-party bloc calling it “Gupkar Gang” while asking the Congress leadership to clarify its stand on the grouping. The PAGD has said the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to delegitimise the coalition for taking part in the democratic process.
So far, PAGD has released the names of 86 candidates for the BDC polls.