Ali Asad
Srinagar, Jul 19: Senior National Conference (NC) leader and former parliament member from North Kashmir, Shareef-ud-din Shariq, Friday stated that the party has not yet decided whether it will enter into any pre-poll alliances for the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Shariq said that the party has already begun its election preparations, with activities starting at both the block and local levels and that party vice President Omar Abdullah’s scheduled visit to Jammu will galvanise mass support for the upcoming polls besides strengthening the party at the grassroots.
Shariq refuted the notion that Omar Abdullah, NC candidate from Baramulla for recently held parliament polls, was defeated in the last Lok Sabha election. He attributed the loss to an “anti-establishment vote” cast in favor of a jailed candidate. “People didn’t know that the person was in jail because of a crime. His children told everyone that their father would be hanged if they didn’t vote for him. This misunderstanding led to the outcome. Otherwise, Omar Sahib received more than three lakh votes—more than anyone had received until then,” Shariq said.
Shariq, who represented Baramulla in North Kashmir as a parliament member from 2009 to 2014, reiterated that the decision to form any alliances would be taken by the party leadership. “The working committee of the National Conference can deliberate on whether an alliance is necessary. However, as of now, I don’t think we are ready for any alliance,” he said.
