INDIA parties should speed up seat-sharing talks in states where prospects are better: Omar Abdullah
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, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters here, he said such talks for the seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh have not started yet.
«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 take a decision 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.
Abdullah said the National Conference has also not started intra-party talks on its candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, due in April-May.
Asked whether he would contest the elections, he said, «I have not had the opportunity to discuss this… Once the process of discussion starts, we will see who are the best candidates that can be fielded.»
«For me, first and foremost will be that Farooq (Abdullah) contests. We will not have a situation wherein both Farooq and me will go to Parliament at the same time. Should a situation arise that Farooq steps back, then we will see what the party chooses to do, but it is not a conversation that we have had in the party yet,» he said.
Omar Abdullah expressed disappointment over assembly elections not being held in the union territory.
«It is very unfortunate. We tell the world that India is the mother of democracy, but I do not know why the mother is murdered in Jammu and Kashmir.
