Farooq Abdullah's Party To Fight Alone In J&K In Another Setback For INDIA

The National Conference has declared its decision to go solo in the upcoming elections, dealing yet another setback to the INDIA Bloc. Party leader Farooq Abdullah categorically stated that the National Conference would contest the polls on its merit without entering into any alliance with other political parties.

"As far as seat sharing is concerned, I want to make it clear National Conference will contest elections on its own strength. There are no two opinions about it. There should be no questions on this anymore," Mr Abdullah said. 

The three-time former jammu and Kashmir chief minister was a strong votary of the INDIA bloc and attended all the meetings of the opposition alliance. Mr Abdullah did not elaborate on why his party took this sudden decision.

"There should be no questions on this alliance anymore," said Mr Abdullah.

Last month Mr Abdullah expressed concerns about the lack of consensus on the India bloc's seat-sharing arrangements. Speaking on former Union minister Kapil Sibal's YouTube channel, Mr Abdullah stressed the urgency of reaching an agreement, stating, "If we have to save the country, we will have to forget differences and think about the country."

Mr Abdullah was recently summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with alleged financial irregularities at the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. The case involves the alleged siphoning off of funds through transfers to personal bank accounts of unrelated parties and unexplained cash withdrawals from the association's accounts.

Mr Abdullah skipped the summons and in an email and a letter to the ED officials, cited being out of town as the reason for his non-appearance.