J&K polls: Farooq Abdullah open to taking PDP's support to form govt

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Monday (October 7) said his party was open to the idea of taking support of Mehbooba Mufti's PDP to form government in Jammu and Kashmir.

On the eve of vote counting, he also flayed the move to give powers to the Lieutenant Governor for nominating members to the five reserved seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, and said his party would approach the Supreme Court if the BJP-led Centre went ahead with it.

Abdullah says not in CM race

The 86-year-old Abdullah, while ruling himself out of the race for chief minister's post, said statehood should be restored to Jammu and Kashmir so that the new government has powers to address the people's problems.

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"The statehood should be restored, full statehood, where the government has the power to do things. I will not be the CM. Let this one thing be clear. I have done my chief minister's job. My problem will be how we make a strong government and how we fulfil the agenda that we have put before the people," he added.

Asked if the National Conference-Congress alliance will take support from the PDP if need be, Abdullah said "why not?" "How does it matter? If we all work for the same thing, for improvement in the conditions of the people of the state, removing unemployment, removing all the distresses that have occurred in the last 10 years. First thing we should do is restore the freedom of the press. We should have the right to say what is true and what is not true. We can be rivals in elections but I have no objections and I am sure Congress will have no objections," he said.

'Unnecessary speculations': PDP chief's daughter

PDP chief Mufti's daughter Iltija said talks about alliance is "unnecessary" and the party's senior leaders would take a call.

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"Unnecessary speculations. Let me put the record straight. PDP's senior leadership will take a call on extending support to a secular front only once the results are out. This is our official stand," she wrote on her X (formerly Twitter) handle.

The NC president said he was not averse to taking support of the independents as well but he would not go begging for it.

"I will not go to beg before them. If they feel they can strengthen the state, most welcome. It should be their initiative. They should want to do good for the people," he added.

The former chief minister also flayed the power given to the LG to nominate members.

"The LG should first of all stay away from this process as a government is being formed. It is for the government to nominate people and send it (nominations) to the LG. That is the normal procedure. What they want to do, I do not know. However, if they do it (give powers to LG), we will go to the Supreme Court. What is the point in making the government, if the Lord Sahib remains here? We have to fight against all this," Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar.

The five reserved seats are for two women, two Kashmiri migrants and one for refugees from Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Abdullah said while he does not have a magic wand to know whether the BJP will go ahead with it, they will not succeed in their designs.

"I wish I had a magic wand to know whether they will do it or not. I know what their intentions are but they will not succeed, try as much as they want," he said.

On the exit polls, Abdullah said he is not thrilled by these exercises.

"The exit polls can be wrong, they can be right also. What will really show the truth is when the boxes are opened and votes are counted. We are hopeful that the alliance will form a stable government. That is what we are looking for," he added.

On the expectations of people with the new government, he said the expectations are so high "that only God knows whether the new CM will be able even to sleep".

Abdullah also hit out at the BJP-led Centre for ignoring Jammu.

"I have just come back from Jammu, I have seen the abysmal condition of Jammu. I have seen the bad roads there, they don't have street lights and then they (BJP) think that Jammu is in its pocket. People of Jammu should understand where they have been taken.They used to abuse us that the NC government had discriminated against Jammu. Today, it is their people sitting in Delhi. How did they forget Jammu?" he asked.

(With agency inputs)