Election Farooq Abdullah says National Conference to go solo in Jammu Kashmir Lok Sabha polls, may join NDA later
Srinagar: In yet another blow to the INDIA bloc, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced on Thursday that his party would go solo in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections while indicating that he may re-join the BJP-led NDA alliance in the future.
In an interview with India Today, Farooq Abdullah said the National Conference would contest in the polls based on its own merits, without forming alliances with other political parties.
However, the former J&K Chief Minister did not dismiss the possibility of rejoining the NDA.
NCP was part of the NDA when Atal Behari Vajpayee was part of the alliance.
The former Jammu Kashmir chief minister revealed that the talks of seat sharing with INDIA bloc parties failed.
He told the publication that there are “no two opinions” about the National Conference fighting the elections on all seats without any understanding with any party.
Fractures in the INDIA bloc and the National Conference have been apparent since last month. In January, the former Chief Minister indicated that certain opposition parties might forge a separate coalition if the seat-sharing arrangement was not promptly resolved.
Moreover, last month witnessed the defection of several leaders from the National Conference (NC) in the Jammu region to the BJP.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, both the BJP and Farooq Abdullah's Jammu & Kashmir National Conference secured three seats each.
The INDIA bloc, comprising 25 political parties, has been witnessing difficulties in reaching seat-sharing understandings with regional parties.
The latest setback for the INDIA bloc follows closely on the heels of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's declaration that the party intends to vie for all 14 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and Chandigarh.
Meanwhile, in Delhi, AAP has extended an offer to the Congress for only one of the seven Lok Sabha seats.
Earlier, TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's declaration that her party would independently contest the Lok Sabha polls. Banerjee pointed fingers at the Congress for turning down all her proposals regarding seat-sharing.
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