PDP to contest Lok Sabha elections solo in J&K: Mehbooba Mufti

In Jammu & Kashmir also, INDIA allies are contesting against each other. The Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decided to go solo in Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir.The development came after National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah said that they would be contesting elections for all three seats in Kashmir.Announcing the decision at a press meet on Wednesday, Ms Mufti said her party will contest the three seats in Kashmir Valley and will soon take a decision on contesting the two parliamentary seats in Jammu. She also hit out at ally National Conference for its "unilateral" decision to contest all seats in Kashmir.She said, "The National Conference and Omar Abdullah didn't leave any option for us." "In Mumbai, I said, Farooq Abdullah is our best representative and he will take the call.Omar Abdullah should have discussed the same with me for greater interest, we were not going to fight over parliamentary elections," Mufti said.
Reacting to this, Omar Abdullah said, "...If she (PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti) has announced to field candidates for all 5 seats, it is her choice. We have fielded candidates for 3 seats in Kashmir based on her formula..." "If she is fielding her own candidates, then perhaps she does not want any kind of alliance even for the assembly elections. We kept the door open; now if she has closed the door, then it is not our fault.," he added. He also said the National Conference's decision to contest all three seats in Kashmir was based on who won the previous elections.
This puts the Congress in a tricky spot. Now it must decide whether it will support the PDP or National Conference. The PDP's decision will also add a punch to the BJP's campaign against the INDIA alliance over the bloc's members taking each other on in multiple states, including Kerala, Punjab and West Bengal.