Body blow for INDIA bloc in J&K: National Conference says will contest all 3 Valley seats

In a setback to the INDIA alliance of Opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the National Conference (NC) has decided to contest all three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley. This will pit the NC and the Peoples Democratic Party, the Valley’s two major mainstream parties, against each other. This also places a major question mark over the Peoples Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), an alliance of political parties in the Valley that was formed in 2020 to fight for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. “Yes, we are contesting all the three seats in the Valley,” NC’s provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said. “We have had consultations with the Congress after which we have decided it.” Asked if there were any consultations with the Peoples Democratic Party, Wani said they were talking “only with the Congress”.