Frictions are growing between the key constituents of the 49-month-old Peoples Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after the NC’s proposal to the INDIA alliance that it will contest all three parliamentary seats from Kashmir in the upcoming 2024 general election. J&K has five seats, with three in Kashmir and two in Jammu.
Both the NC and the PDP are members of the Opposition’s Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). During the bloc’s meeting in New Delhi NC vice president Omar Abdullah proposed that the NC would field candidates from all the seats won by the party in the previous parliamentary polls, piquing the PDP.
This is despite the fact that PDP president Mehbooba Mufti had earlier told the INDIA alliance that NC president Farooq Abdullah, “being a senior leader from J&K, will take the final call” on seat sharing in the Union Territory (UT).
Seat-sharing disagreements
“The PDP decision to join the INDIA alliance was not to lose the right to contest elections from J&K. The NC’s proposal is an attempt to sideline the PDP in Kashmir, with strong bastions in south and central Kashmir. Will the NC adopt a similar formula for the upcoming Assembly polls and forfeit all the seats won by the PDP in the previous polls?” a senior PDP leader said, speaking to The Hindu on the condition of anonymity.
The PDP leader said that the Gupkar alliance was for a bigger cause, adding that the party respects the sentiment of the people, who want the two parties to stand together to realise the goal.
‘Gupkar not electoral alliance’
A senior NC leader told The Hindu that the party sticks to Mr. Abdullah’s proposal on seat sharing and “leaves it to the INDIA alliance to take a final call”.
“The main goal of the INDIA alliance is to keep the BJP away. The NC conceding a seat to the PDP in Kashmir makes no difference at all. If the PDP has joined the INDIA alliance for seats in Kashmir, it’s barking up the wrong tree,” the NC leader said, reiterating that the Gupkar alliance was “not an electoral alliance”.
“If Ms. Mufti has decided to accept the decision of Dr. Abdullah during the INDIA alliance meeting, she should wait. Also, let the Congress and the PDP decide on winnable candidates from the Jammu region and Ladakh and share the seats,” the NC leader added.
He argued that the NC was already sacrificing its cadre, which may fall apart if it does not field candidates from the Jammu region.
Rising frictions
Six political parties joined hands in August 2019 to create the Gupkar alliance and jointly launch a political fight for the restoration of the pre-August 5, 2019 position in Jammu and Kashmir. However, two parties have already left the alliance, including Sajad Lone’s Peoples Conference.
Of late, differences between the NC and the PDP have been on the rise. PDP youth leader Waheed Parra’s verbal attack on the NC in July this year further deepened the divide. He accused the NC of rigging elections, creating a Special Operations Group and resorting to executions to hold onto power.
Another senior NC leader said that Mr. Parra’s remarks did not go down well with the party’s top leadership. “The fact that Parra was not reprimanded by Ms. Mufti was taken note of by the leadership,” the NC leader said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Abdullah has called for an Opposition parties’ meeting on October 3, 2023 at his Jammu residence.
“It’s to discuss the political situation,” said Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M.Y. Tarigami, who has forwarded a communication to all the political leaders to attend this meeting.
