Omar Abdullah wanted to form a government with the BJP in 2014: Former chairman of the National Conference

New Delhi [India]September 2 (ANI): Former senior National Conference (NC) leader and current BJP leader Devender Singh Rana claimed that Omar Abdullah met BJP leaders Amit Shah and Ram Madhav in 2014 to demand formation of a government with the NC.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devender Singh Rana told ANI on Monday, “Omar Abdullah is trying to mislead the people of Kashmir by telling them that every political party except the National Conference is working with the BJP. In 2014, when I was a member of the National Conference, we used to knock on every door and ask people to form a government with us as we were only 15 people. Omar Abdullah says that they met Amit Shah and Ram Madhav then to urge them to form a government with the NC. Since the BJP had rejected the NC's request then, they are saying all this now.” He added that between August 2019 and October 2021, the National Conference made many attempts to approach the BJP leadership to form some kind of union.

“Between August 5, 2019 and October 2021, when I was at the National Conference, there were many attempts to approach the BJP leadership to form some kind of association. Omar Abdullah should tell the truth. The National Conference will not form a government… We have no alliance with any political party in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

Congress and National Conference have joined forces for the parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir has 90 constituencies, of which 7 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 9 for Scheduled Tribes (STs).

According to the Indian Election Commission, there are 8.806 million eligible voters in Jammu and Kashmir.

In the last general elections, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 25, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) won 15 and the Congress 12.

The elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.

This is the first parliamentary election since the abrogation of Article 370. (ANI)