Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) leader Omar Abdullah on Friday stressed on the need to form an alliance of opposition parties to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the forthcoming 2019 General Elections.
Abdullah comments came after he met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Howrah to discuss the prevailing situation in the country, the fear that prevails particularly among the minority communities of the country, and the need to form an alliance to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
When asked if a federal front comprising of all regional parties will be possible as they will have differences of their own among themselves, Abdullah said that a true federal front would be one where there are no differences.
"There are parties that have a leadership role in their particular areas. For example, take my party and Mamata Didi's party, we don't have any differences. But going ahead, other parties will have to be included. We will try our best to set our differences aside and put the best foot forward in terms of taking the fight to the BJP," Abdullah told the media.
He further stated that one of the BJP's biggest failures has been J-K, saying that the internal situation in the state had "remarkably deteriorated" since 2014.
"The reality is that the BJP government at the centre was unable to conduct even a parliamentary by-election for the seat that was vacated by Mehbooba Mufti.
He swatted away questions related to the name of the alliance or its Prime Ministerial candidate.
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Meanwhile, Mamata stressed on the need of all regional parties working together, saying, "Please don't pick and choose the individual names to divide us. All regional parties have to work together against BJP. Our intention is very clear. It's a fight for 2019 against BJP."
Discussions were also held between the two leaders regarding the prevailing situation of Jammu and Kashmir (J-K), with Abdullah saying that Mamata has always been concerned about the state, particularly about the economic activity and Jammu and Kashmir's tourism.
He also said that she has been a great supporter of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in various capacities, citing the support she extended to the state when she was the Union Railway Minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government , and recently as the Chief Minister of West Bengal.