Abdullah emphasized the importance of supporting candidates from the I.N.D.I.A bloc to counter communal forces.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah delivered a scathing critique of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) during an election rally in south Kashmir’s Kokernag, accusing the PDP of aligning with the BJP and labelling them as the BJP’s “C-team.”
Abdullah emphasized the importance of supporting candidates from the INDIA bloc to counter communal forces. He stated, “If we have to defeat the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir, people should only look towards candidates of the I.N.D.I.A bloc National Conference candidates on three seats of Kashmir and Congress candidates on two seats in Jammu.”
The INDIA bloc comprises the National Conference, PDP, and Congress, although the PDP is contesting independently in the Lok Sabha elections. Abdullah criticized the PDP’s connections with the BJP, alleging, “The rest have connections with the BJP somewhere — be it B-team or A-team who hold late-night meetings with (BJP leader) Tarun Chugh or the PDP.”
Regarding PDP’s leader Mehbooba Mufti, Abdullah speculated that she would pressure the BJP to retract statements made by Mushtaq Bukhari in favour of the PDP. Abdullah remarked, “After the A-team and the B-team, the PDP has now joined as the C-team of the BJP.”
Mehbooba Mufti is contesting from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat after the National Conference declined to accommodate her, citing previous electoral victories in all three Kashmir Valley constituencies in 2019.
Responding to the BJP’s internal dynamics, particularly the absence of incumbent Ladakh MP Jamyang Namgyal from the election fray, Abdullah remarked, “It is an internal matter of the BJP. I am only concerned that the Congress should field the right candidate from Ladakh as we are contesting there together. There should be no room for a BJP win there.”