National Conference will contest Lok Sabha elections alone: Farooq Abdullah

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh reacted by saying that talks are underway and National Conference has 'been a part of the INDIA bloc, and will continue to remain so'

National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah said on Thursday that the party will contest the upcoming elections, which is another setback for the INDIA block.

"As far as seat sharing is concerned, NC will contest alone and there's no doubt about it," he said in a press conference in Srinagar, according to news agency ANI.

Abdullah was earlier this month summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case about the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA). Abdullah skipped the summons.

On Abdullah's statement that his party will contest the elections alone, Congress member of Parliament Jairam Ramesh said, "Talks are going on. Every party has their own limitations. National Conference and People's Democratic Party have been a part of the INDIA bloc, and will continue to remain so."

Earlier Omar Abdullah, vice president of the party, said that INDIA bloc partners should speed up their seat-sharing talks for the Lok Sabha elections in states such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Punjab where their prospects are better.

"We are a part of the INDIA alliance. We have a total of six seats, including Ladakh, and I do not think it will take us more than 15 minutes to decide on that. I want that wherever we have hopes of winning seats like in UP, WB, Maharashtra, Bihar, Punjab, Delhi, TN, and Kerala, we should speed up the process of seat-sharing discussions," he said.

Omar Abdullah said the National Conference has also not started intra-party talks on its candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, due in April-May.

Earlier this year, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that her party, Trinamool Congress, would fight the elections alone. Later, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also announced it would contest alone.

The dissent is now visible in West Bengal, Bihar, Punjab and Kerala.