In another major blow to the INDIA bloc, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) MP Farooq Abdullah said on Thursday that his party will contest the impending Lok Sabha elections solo. The announcement came after the bloc's ally parties Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) declared their solo run for the general assembly polls.
Clearing the air about the seat-sharing talks, in which the INDIA bloc has not yet come to a collective decision, Abdullah said, "As far as seat sharing is concerned, NC will contest alone and there's no doubt about it." The JKNC MP also stated that Jammu and Kashmir is likely to go for assembly elections at the same time as the Lok Sabha polls.
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AAP and TMC's decision to contest Lok Sabha polls alone
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister's stance came as the INDIA bloc reels under the back to back blow following AAP's and TMC's announcement of contesting the Lok Sabha elections by themselves in Punjab and West Bengal respectively.
Recently, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann declared that the AAP would refrain from contesting the general assembly polls with the alliance. His announcement followed, TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement that her party was not engaged in any discussions with the Congress and would independently participate in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Will Farooq Abdullah forge alliance with the BJP again?
In a major jolt to the 25-party opposition alliance, Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar – one of the architects of the INDIA bloc and its potential face for the prime ministerial candidate – quit the alliance to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Following this, there has been fear that other parties may follow the suit.
With the Thursday's announcement, Abdullah did not rule out the possibility of JKNC joining hands with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Abdullah's party had allied with the NDA under BJP veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government in the late 1990s.
