Omar Abdullah, vice president of the National Conference, on Tuesday, said that the decision of People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) to fight the upcoming District Development Council (DDC) is to bar the “free run” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and newly formed “King’s party”.
Earlier, Amit Shah, the union home minister, had accused the Alliance of “[wanting] foreign forces to intervene in Jammu and Kashmir” and “[insulting] India’s Tricolour”. Stating that Mr. Abdullah understands the “frustration behind this attack” by Mr. Shah, he said, “[Mr. Shah] had been briefed that the People’s Alliance was preparing to boycott elections. This would have allowed the BJP & newly formed King’s party a free run in J&K. We didn’t oblige them.”
Last week, the PAGD had announced that they would participate in the DDC polls as an Alliance. The polling is scheduled to take place from 28 November.
