Published: February 15, 2024 7:52 PM IST 
Lok Sabha Polls: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday asserted that the National Conference was still a part of the INDIA bloc and the party is engaged in seat seat-sharing talks with the Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“We were a part of the INDIA alliance and we still are. Things have been taken out of context. The main idea of the grouping is to defeat the BJP for there is no point in sailing in two boats,” Omar Abdullah said with his father, Farooq Abdullah, by his side.
#WATCH | ON NC Chief Farooq Abdullah's statement that NC will contest the elections alone, Former CM and JKNC Vice President Omar Abdullah says, " National Conference was a member of INDIA alliance and we continue to be a member of INDIA alliance. On the seat sharing, we have… pic.twitter.com/m281yFcILM
— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2024
Omar’s statement came shortly after NC chief Farooq Abdullah dropped a bombshell that the party would go solo in the Lok Sabha elections and possible assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir on its own.
Omar said the NC was in talks with the Congress for an arrangement in three of the six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
VIDEO | Here's what National Conference leader Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) said on the reports of alliance with NDA.
"We have no connection with the NDA. Neither we are going to knock on their doors in the future nor our doors are open for them. Today, our focus is to stop BJP… pic.twitter.com/uCZFAQ9f2i
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 15, 2024
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the union territory next week, he said, “We will also get to know how much development has happened in Jammu and Kashmir.”
The former CM said the prime minister should start his theory of one nation, one election from Jammu and Kashmir.
"JKNC was a part of the INDIA Alliance and continues to be a part of the INDIA Alliance." JKNC VP @OmarAbdullah dispels the media-created fake narrative that JKNC has left the alliance.pic.twitter.com/aX9JJGm5ge
— JKNC (@JKNC_) February 15, 2024
Earlier in the day, Farooq Abdullah had stated that the National Conference would fight the general elections alone and won’t align with any political parties or faction, hinting that the party was mulling to break ties with the INDIA grouping.
“As far as seat sharing is concerned, I want to make it clear the National Conference will contest elections on its own strength. There are no two opinions about it,” Abdullah had said.
Farooq, one of the key architects of the INDIA bloc who attended all the meetings of the opposition grouping, did not reveal why the NC took this sudden decision.
Notably, Abdullah had last month expressed his concerns on the lack of consensus among INDIA bloc constituents on seat-sharing arrangements. Abdullah appeared of former Union Minister Kapil Sibal’s YouTube channel and highlighted the need for reaching an agreement on seat-sharing among INDIA bloc members.
“If we have to save the country, we will have to forget differences and think about the country,” the former 3-time chief minister had said.
Notably, Abdullah has also reportedly not ruled out re-joining the BJP-led NDA in the near future.
However, Omar later junked these aspersions, saying that the NC has no connection with the NDA.
“We have no connection with the NDA. Neither we are going to knock on their doors in the future nor our doors are open for them. Today, our focus is to stop BJP and for this we have informally discussed about the seat sharing with the Congress,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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