Notwithstanding the efforts of the Congress to avoid division of the anti-BJP votes in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the Lok Sabha elections, the war of words between two constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc has intensified.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday launched a blistering attack on the "arrogant" National Conference (NC) for not taking coalition partners into confidence.
Amidst mounting tensions between the PDP and the NC in Kashmir, the youth wing president of the PDP Waheed-ur-Rehman-Parra, has called for unity while condemning what he perceives as arrogance from the NC leadership regarding seat sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Parra criticized the NC's attitude on Thursday, suggesting that if Farooq had requested seats from Mufti, she would have willingly conceded all Kashmir seats to the NC. However, he regretted the NC's perceived arrogance in dismissing the PDP's relevance. Parra warned that such arrogance could lead to electoral repercussions similar to the NC's defeat in 2002.
"NC seems to believe that people have no alternative but to vote for them. They don't actively seek votes but rather expect people's support as a given. This arrogance will not go unnoticed by the electorate, as history has shown in 2002," Parra said.
Parra also criticized the NC's track record of addressing critical issues facing Kashmiris, such as targeted violence and land disputes. He credited PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti for advocating on behalf of the common people and challenging the status quo at both regional and national levels.
NC MPs failed to raise people's issues in Parliament
"Even when the NC held all three parliament seats from Kashmir, what tangible improvements did they bring amidst rising violence and land disputes? It was Mehbooba Mufti who led protests in Delhi. Mehbooba consistently raises her voice for the common people against the state," Parra pointed out.
In the context of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Parra's remarks underscored the growing tension between the PDP and the NC, with implications for the distribution of seats in Kashmir.
NC won elections due to boycott call
Intensifying attack on the coalition partner, Parra said the National Conference had won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Kashmir because of the boycott situation. "They won in 2019 in a boycott situation and now claim that NC is the number one party and PDP has no ground anywhere. I think the people of Jammu and Kashmir are keeping an eye on every statement and every leader," he said, adding, "They will take the same decision as they did in 2002."
"As far as PDP is concerned, we are in favour of unity and our intentions were good. They had three MPs in the Lok Sabha. What did they do? What issues did they raise? When the campaign to vacate land was going on in the state, so it was Mehbooba who raised her voice. Mufti protested outside Parliament. Even when ED calls Farooq Abdullah, it is Mehbooba Mufti who raises her voicee," he said.
On March 8, PDP President Mufti expressed her unhappiness over the National Conference contesting elections for all three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir, saying that the decision was disappointing and a blow to the hopes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. She had also accused the NC of fragmenting its People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD).
