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Omar Abdullah Rejects Seat-Share Deal with PDP for Anantnag, Underlining Rift in J&K Politics

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Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has declared that his party will not engage in a seat-share agreement with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Anantnag seat in South Kashmir ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. This announcement by Omar Abdullah deals a blow to the opposition INDIA bloc's prospects in the upcoming polls, as both the National Conference and the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP are key constituents of the alliance.

Omar Abdullah's refusal to consider a seat-share deal stems from his assertion that the party ranked third in the electoral hierarchy has no entitlement to demand a seat. He emphasized that if he had been informed beforehand about the necessity to compromise the party's position for another member within the INDIA bloc, he would have refrained from joining the alliance altogether. This stance by Omar Abdullah underscores the National Conference's commitment to preserving its electoral stronghold and asserting its autonomy within the coalition framework.

The strained relationship between the National Conference and the PDP is further underscored by Omar Abdullah's critique of the PDP's performance in the 2019 polls, which serves as a rationale for abstaining from forging an electoral alliance. This development marks a departure from the initial optimism surrounding the INDIA bloc, as both parties have now declared their intent to contest the Lok Sabha elections independently.

Jammu and Kashmir's electoral dynamics, characterized by regional identities and competing political narratives, present a complex landscape for the upcoming polls. With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holding two seats from Jammu and the National Conference dominating all three seats in the Kashmir Valley, including Anantnag represented by NC's Hasnain Masoodi, the stakes are high for both the National Conference and the PDP.

In response to Omar Abdullah's remarks, Mehbooba Mufti, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and leader of the PDP, lamented the breakdown of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), an alliance formed by regional parties to collectively advocate for the restoration of Article 370. The rift between the National Conference and the PDP underscores the challenges of coalition politics in Jammu and Kashmir, as both parties navigate divergent electoral strategies and ambitions amidst shifting alliances and political landscapes.

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