Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Omar Abdullah says talks with Congress only on seats held by BJP

Former J&K Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that his party remains a member of the INDIA bloc and seat-sharing in the union territory will happen only on seats that are held by the BJP. In 2019, the BJP had won 3 of 6 Lok Sabha seats in J&K, while the rest three seats went to the NC.

Earlier today, Omar Abdullah's father Farooq Abdullah said his party would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election alone on all seats. However, Omar said what his father said was a "reflection of what the party cadre feels" but sacrifices can be made for a bigger objective.  

"On the seat sharing, we have been very clear for the last few months. The seats that will be discussed are those that are held with BJP, we are firm on that position," Abdullah was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Omar said the National Conference has made no secrets about the fact that they would rather fight elections on all seats, "but the truth is that sometimes for a bigger objective, small sacrifices have to be made". 

"If the bigger objective is to win seats back from the BJP...then if it is necessary for NC to enter into seat sharing with Congress, our doors are open," he said.

"We have not yet had any formal discussion with Congress (on seat sharing), informally some dialogues have taken place. We are not the sort of a party that has our feet in multiple boats, once we make friends, we stick to those friends," he added. 

Omar Abdullah further said that the National Conference continues to be a member of the INDIA bloc.

Earlier in the day, Farooq Abdullah said the National Conference would contest the polls on its merits without stitching an alliance with other political parties. He, however, didn't rule out the possibility of returning to the NDA fold. The NC was part of the NDA when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was at the helm.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won from Ladakh, Udhampur, and Jammu. Baramulla, Srinagar, and Anantnag went to the NC.