Ali Asad
Srinagar, Mar 12: National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah declared that his party would not relinquish any of the three seats in the Kashmir Valley to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Instead, he offered the Congress the opportunity to allocate either two seats in Jammu or one seat in Ladakh from their share. This statement comes amidst ongoing discussions between the NC and Congress regarding seat sharing for the upcoming elections.
Speaking in Jammu, Omar emphasized NC’s firm stance on retaining their existing seats in Kashmir while engaging in negotiations with Congress for potential allocations in other regions.
“The NC has previously announced its intention to contest all three seats in Kashmir, and discussions are underway with Congress regarding two seats in Jammu and one in Ladakh,” Omar said.
He reiterated the party’s demand for synchronizing assembly elections with the Lok Sabha polls, emphasizing that denying the people of Jammu and Kashmir their right to participate in assembly elections would be unjust. He pointed out that if the Lok Sabha elections could proceed and Prime Minister Modi could hold rallies in Srinagar, there should be no impediment to conducting assembly elections as well.
In a veiled critique directed at Congress regarding seat sharing, Omar asserted that while they were open to allocating seats from their share to the PDP, NC would stand firm on retaining its previously won seats. He also expressed skepticism about PDP’s chances of securing victory in the Jammu, Udhampur, and Ladakh constituencies.
