No INDI Alliance In Jammu-Kashmir: After National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti Declares PDP To Contest All Seats

Mehbooba Mufti declared on Wednesday (3 April) that the People's Democratic Party (PDP) will contest all five Lok Sabha seats in Jammu-Kashmir. This officially puts an end to the existence of the INDI Alliance in the Union Territory.

The announcement comes almost a month after the National Conference (NC) announced its decision to contest all three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley. Omar Abdullah had asked the Congress and PDP to settle two Jammu and one Ladakh seat among themselves.

Earlier, it was proposed that the NC will contest the Srinagar and Baramulla seats while leaving the Anantnag seat for PDP president Mehbooba Mufti. However, having sitting MPs in all these three seats, the NC didn't want to spare even a single seat.

Mufti blamed Omar Abdullah's non-cooperation for her decision and said that she had no option left. She acknowledged that a united opposition was needed against BJP but expressed her disappointment with the NC.

She said that the PDP had left it to NC president Farooq Abdullah to decide the seat-sharing arrangement. However, the NC took the unilateral decision to contest all three seats in Kashmir, compelling PDP to field their own candidates.

While the PDP is yet to announce its candidates, Mian Altaf Ahmad is set to contest at Anantnag-Poonch-Rajouri as the NC candidate. Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is also a candidate here from his Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP).

With Mehbooba Mufti most likely to contest from Anantnag, the seat may witness an interesting tripolar contest. DPAP candidate in Udhampur- Doda seat is G M Saroori, who will challenge sitting MP and Union Minister Jitendra Singh.

Responding to Mehbooba Mufti's declaration, Omar Abdullah said, "If she is fielding her own candidates then perhaps she does not want any kind of alliance even for the assembly elections. We kept the door open, now she has closed the door."

On Ghulam Nabi Azad's candidacy, Omar Abdullah said, "I am quite surprised. I would have thought he would contest from Udhampur. Clearly there is more than meets the eye. What are the reasons, what is the pressure, I don't know."