National Conference on Wednesday hinted that it will not contest Assembly elections jointly with the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), an alliance of several parties which came together with the claim to fight for the restoration of J&K’s special status.
“The provincial committee members (of the National Conference) unanimously resolved that JKNC should prepare and fight for all 90 seats,” the party released a statement after a meeting chaired by the party’s vice president, Omar Abdullah.
In July this year, NC president Farooq Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti announced that PAGD would contest together. Farooq, who heads the PAGD, had announced it while addressing the media in Kupwara.
Mehbooba had said, “People want us to stay together and restore our lost respect and dignity. The difficulties, the sufferings we are going through (people feel) we should stay together and fight.”
The PAGD’s constituents include the NC, PDP, CPI(M), and Awami National Conference, among others, and the alliance has contested DDC (District Development Council) elections together.
“The participants present in the meeting expressed dismay over the recent statements, audio jingles and speeches made by some of the constituents of the PAGD targeting JKNC. They felt that it did not contribute to the overall unity of the amalgam. They denounced the unfair treatment meted out to JKNC in PAGD. The participants demanded immediate course correction from PAGD constituents,” the party said.
The provincial committee members unanimously resolved that JKNC should prepare and fight for all 90 assembly seats, the party said. “The Vice President in his response acknowledged the concerns raised by the participants and reiterated that the interests of the people of J&K and JKNC will be safeguarded,” the party said.
During the hours-long meeting, the functionaries gave their appraisal of the current political situation in their respective areas, it said. “The meeting was also marked by threadbare discussions on party affairs and the mounting apprehensions among the public with regard to the inclusion of 25 lakh new voters, as claimed by J&K’s CEO in a press conference.”
Alluding to the inclusion of 25 lakh new voters in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar said the entire matter begs clarity from the Election Commission of India. “All this has triggered fears of demographic flooding and political disempowerment within the public. We are yet to ascertain if the final electoral rolls are also to include those ordinarily residing voters,” the party sources said.
“Our concerns with regards to requirements for outsiders to get registered continue to remain unmet. The clarity provided by government quarters has failed to address our core concerns on the issue,” added the sources.
Omar Abdullah, the former chief minister of J&K and MoS in the NDA-led by the late BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are best equipped to defeat these nefarious designs by voting in huge numbers in the forthcoming elections, whenever they’re held.
“The remedy lies with our people, who, if they choose to vote in huge numbers, can thwart these attempts aimed at disempowering the people of J&K. Therefore, people have to make it a point to come out and vote in huge numbers,” he added.
Omar said that he will discuss the feedback from the meeting with the party president and his father Dr Farooq Abdullah.