Three days after the National Conference president Dr. Farooq Abdullah announced that his son and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will not contest assembly elections till statehood is restored to Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti also hinted not to contest the next assembly polls.
Interacting with media persons at Srinagar Mehbooba Mufti said that participating in the next assembly election was not her priority.
"Those at the helm of the affairs are hell-bent to stifle dissent voice. An atmosphere of fear, hatred, and uncertainty has been created in Jammu and Kashmir. In such an atmosphere participating in the election is an important question for me", she said.
"Attaining power is not my priority. We are fighting to save our very existence because those at the helm of the affairs are trying to destroy our existence", she said.
The PDP president alleged that the BJP wants to impose its communal agenda in Jammu and Kashmir.
"BJP wants to erase the cultural, social, and political identity of Jammu and Kashmir. It is continuously damaging the national constitution", she said.
Earlier in December 2021, Mehbooba Mufti had announced that she will not contest elections till Article 370 is restored in Jammu and Kashmir. She added that statehood was not their demand.
Mufti alleged that the present Government was running the country with a colonial mindset.
"Unfortunately, J&K has become a laboratory for their experiments. Gandhi's India has become Godse's India", she said.
Omar will not contest the assembly poll till statehood is restored, says Farooq
National Conference President and former chief minister of J&K, Dr. Farooq Abdullah said on Thursday that Omar Abdullah will not contest assembly elections till statehood is not restored to J&K.
"Omar will not contest assembly polls in J&K till statehood is restored. He has already clarified it till statehood to J&K is not restored he will stay away from elections", Dr. Farooq announced.
Both PDP and NC start preparations for assembly elections
Although Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have announced not to join the electoral battle till the restoration of statehood to J&K, both parties have started preparations for the next assembly polls in the Union Territory.
National Conference has already appointed incharge for all 90 assembly segments of Jammu and Kashmir to start work in their respective constituencies. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has also started the whirlwind tour of different parts of the Union Territory.
Next week, Mehbooba Mufti is visiting the mountainous region of Jammu province as part of the party's preparations for the assembly polls.
