Cracks in the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), formed from a merger of Jammu and Kashmir parties, have been exposed with People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti accusing the national conference of reducing the alliance to a “joke”.
The statement comes amid disagreements over seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
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People’s Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti told a press conference at the party office that the decision of the national conference was “disappointing”
“Omar (Abdullah) himself has said that the People’s Democratic Party has broken away from the alliance. You can see who broke the alliance. We did not. This is a unique alliance and it is disappointing to see it break up. They turned PAGD into It became a joke,” Mufti said.
The NC had earlier announced that the party would contest all three seats in the Kashmir Valley and asked the Congress to contest two seats in the Jammu region. The party also said that NC and Congress will select unanimous candidates for the Ladakh seat.
Reacting to the development, Mufti said her party, which is considering taking a seat from the Valley, would leave the seat to them if the National Council consults with them.
“I am disappointed because Farooq Abdullah used to discuss every small issue with us. Today they have taken such a big decision saying that the People’s Democratic Party has no place in the alliance. If Farooq Abdullah Abdullah asked us to vacate our seats and we might sacrifice our seats for the sake of unity.” She said the decision was “a major setback” for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
She regretted the unilateral decision and said, “We joined forces for the DDC polls as requested by NC State. Many leaders left us because we could not accommodate them. For the greater cause, we remain Unity.”
Mocking the National Council, the leader said the alliance’s own leaders were weakening it, adding, “I am a fighter but I never thought we would fight each other. Our opponents are strong and have put Jammu and Kashmir turned into a prison. But NC’s decision today has changed the goalposts.”
Mehbooba said she would gauge public sentiment before taking action, while insisting that the People’s Democratic Party remained part of the opposition Indian bloc.
Omar: No room for party in third place
Interacting with the media at the party headquarters earlier, NC Vice President Omar Abdullah said there was no doubt that the party had finished third in the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in south Kashmir in the last polls.
“When the leaders of the People’s Democratic Party did not leave the party, they could not win the seat. Now the party is not that strong, so how can they win the seat,” he said.
Omar Abdullah said his party will contest the polls in all three seats in Kashmir and leave two seats in Jammu to the Congress. “For Ladakh, the party will not field any candidate but will support the unanimously agreed candidate of the Congress who can defeat the BJP.”
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Omar said if the party decides to field Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi, they can reserve the Anantnag Lok Sabha seat to the Congress
Talking about the issue of keeping the alliance united, Abdullah said that all political parties need to share the responsibility for this, while criticizing the People’s Democratic Party’s actions against NC on social media and on the party’s founding day, saying it was against the alliance’s Dharma.
Omar said the HDP had little space in the six Lok Sabha seats, adding that it could accommodate them during the parliamentary elections.