Farooq Abdullah, President of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference on Tuesday said that the party will compete in the forthcoming elections as part of the I.N.D.I alliance and that discussions with Congress over seat sharing are going on.
Member of Parliament Abdullah said that the INDIA bloc needs to be strengthened to preserve the country from disaster.
"If the INDIA bloc is not strengthened, we will put the nation in danger," former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Abdullah warned mediapersons in Srinagar.
He said that discussions with Congress are now underway and that the decision on seat sharing would be revealed to the public within a few days.
"There is no doubt we have to make a coalition with the Congress as Omar (Abdullah) sahib is in touch with them and it is very likely a decision will come out in a few days," said the former J&K CM.
Later, NC Vice President Omar Abdullah said, “There had been one round of seat-sharing discussions with Congress in Delhi.”
"The Congress presented various recommendations that needed to be debated inside the National Conference party. One of their recommendations was not accepted by the National Conference's top leadership. So we'll go back and have a second round of discussions," Omar added.
He further added, that he has always pointed out that three seats are already held by the National Conference, thus they would primarily be debating three seats: Jammu, Udhampur, and Ladakh.
"So I don't think it will be too difficult and I am sure in the next round of discussion, will have it concluded," he further added.
Jammu and Kashmir used to have six Lok Sabha seats before the repeal of Article 370, which granted special status to the former state, in August 2019.
In the most recent Parliamentary elections in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, the NC and BJP each won three seats.
Ladakh is now a distinct Union Territory, reducing the number of Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir to five.
NC President Abdullah said that a partnership with the Congress will undoubtedly enhance the political situation in Jammu & Kashmir.
"We couldn't stay lonely; it's part of the country. We cannot be strengthened alone," he continued.
When asked if any former NC leaders are joining the BJP, the NC president responded that "people will come and go."
"This is not a new saying. Some will join the BJP and others leave it. It is a part of the election," he said.
"It won't affect the National Conference," he said.
Responding to another question on the BJP's claim that the National Conference will lose all three seats in Parliament, Abdullah added that it is up to the people.
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