Omar Abdullah, vice-president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), on Friday accused the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of planning to facilitate the return of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to power in the region.
His remarks came in response to recent statements by Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who said her party would emerge as the “kingmaker” in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.
“When the PDP and its chief’s daughter said they will be the kingmakers after the election, it was clear that they are not contesting to win, but to bring the BJP back to power,” Abdullah told reporters.
He recalled the PDP’s alliance with the BJP in 2014 and suggested that the party had similar intentions again, accusing them of supporting the BJP’s rise in the region.
“They similarly included the BJP in the government in 2014, and we are bearing the consequences today. Their intentions again are the same,” the former J&K chief minister claimed.
What Iltija Mufti said on PDP’s ‘kingmaker’ role
Iltija Mufti, who is contesting from the PDP stronghold of Srigufwara-Bijbehara, recently told PTI in an interview that no single party would secure a majority in the elections and that the PDP was confident of playing the role of kingmaker in government formation.
“I am very confident that the PDP will be the kingmaker in whatever situation we are. One thing is clear that no party will get majority,” she asserted.
Asked if the PDP will support the NC-Congress alliance if it falls short of numbers for government formation, she said it was too early to comment on it.
“Besides, I am contesting for MLA, I am not the party president. It is better if you ask this to Mehbooba Mufti,” she said.
Iltija, the third-generation politician from the Mufti family, said her party will fight the election so as to not cede the ground to the BJP, and not for power or numbers game, as she termed the current status of Jammu and Kashmir little more than that of a “municipality”.
On the NC-Congress alliance, Iltija said “unity is the need of the hour and it is important that we all move together but that is not always possible in politics. If two parties come together, it is good for them.”
