PAGD to jointly contest J&K polls: Farooq, Mufti

“The alliance will jointly contest elections,” former J&K chief minister and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah told reporters in north Kashmir’s Kupwara.

Abdullah’s confirmation came a month after NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and Mufti had hinted at a united contest by the alliance.

Abdullah also targeted People’s Conference and its leader Sajad Lone in the latter’s political turf, saying the party had joined the alliance as a conspiracy.

“I regret [that] one party says it quit the alliance. They were never part of the alliance,” Abdullah said in an apparent reference to the People’s Conference. “They would come to my doors but their belief was not right. They thought they would break the alliance inside but God threw them out.”

Asked whether elections would take place, Abdullah said if the Centre could hold elections after massive floods in the Valley in 2014 why not now.

Mufti said: “People want us to stay together and restore our lost respect and dignity. The difficulties, the sufferings we are going through…(people feel) we should stay together and fight.”

An alliance of mainstream political parties formed to fight for restoration of J&K’s special status, the PAGD includes, apart from NC and PDP, the CPI(M) and Awami National Conference.

If it contests the polls together, the alliance is likely to severely impact the chances of smaller parties such as Altaf Bukhari’s Apni Party and Sajad Lone’s Peoples Conference.

The PAGD could also expect to make an impact in Mulsim-dominated Chenab and Pir Panjal areas of Jammu region. While the regions have a higher Muslim population, Muslim votes would get divided between NC and PDP, thus letting BJP candidates to emerge victorious.

While the senior Abdullah has confirmed joined candidates for the Assembly polls, it would not be an easy sailing for the alliance partners on the ground. Although the alliance jointly contested the DDC polls in 2020 and secured a majority, there were allegations — Sajad Lone had accused the alliance partners of fielding proxy candidates and moved out of the alliance.