PDP to support NC in Rajya Sabha polls; Mehbooba says ‘must keep BJP away’

The Peoplersquos Democratic Party PDP on Thursday announced its support to the ruling National Conference NC in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections emphasising the need to keep the fascist forces out of powerSpeaking at a press conference PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said ldquoWe have decided to give support to the NC and vote for their candidatesrdquoThe former chief minister added that the decision was driven by the imperative to keep the BJP away PTI reportedldquoThe PDP which holds three votes will vote with the intent to block the BJP and back a party that opposes communal and fascist forces at any costrdquo Mufti assertedShe also criticised the NC for breaking the Peoplersquos Alliance for Gupkar Declaration PAGD a coalition of political parties seeking restoration of Jammu and Kashmirrsquos special statusldquoWhen the PAGD was created we aimed to provide collective leadership to JK to fight the BJPrsquos onslaught but the NC broke the alliance once they saw it did not serve their interestsrdquo said MuftiPAGD was formed in October 2020 following the Centrersquos abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019Highlighting recent political dynamics Mufti stated ldquoToday as part of the India alliance the NC has sidelined the Congress in the Rajya Sabha polls They donrsquot deserve our trust or votes but for the larger cause we have decided to support the NCrdquoThe PDP chief revealed that the decision came after discussions with the party leadership and Members of Legislative Assembly MLAs following a request from NCOn Wednesday NC chief Farooq Abdullah reached out to her for support and NCrsquos Rajya Sabha candidate and treasurer GS Oberoi Shammi Oberoi met her on WednesdayMufti said her partyrsquos support is contingent on the NC backing two key bills introduced by PDP legislators in the assembly mdash the Land Regularisation Bill and the Regularisation of Daily Wagers BillldquoI told Farooq Abdullah to help us pass these bills They have the majority the Speaker and the Assemblyrdquo she saidShe also cited opposition from Bharatiya Janata Party BJP Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma who had labelled the Land Regularisation Bill as lsquoland jihadrsquo and threatened to block itldquoI hope the NC as assured by Oberoi and Omar Abdullah will not obstruct any propeople legislation and will support these billsrdquo said MuftiOn the Rajya Sabha voting strategy the PDP chief said her party will support the NCrsquos candidate for the third seat but not the fourthldquoWe have three votes which are few but significant We will give our votes for the third preference to Shammi Oberoi We do not want to support the fourth candidate as if they lose that seat PDP will be blamed The NC can shift votes for the fourth seatrdquo she saidMufti also warned that if the NC does not act on PDPrsquos bills ldquothe decision will be taken in the peoplersquos courtrdquoAddressing Sharmarsquos threat again Mufti said ldquoI hope Omar Abdullah counters the BJPrsquos agenda and ensures these bills come up in the Assembly and are passed If not the people will have to decide who is enforcing the BJPrsquos agenda in JKrdquoShe added ldquoIf our bills are kept aside it will mean that Sharmarsquos threat is being implemented by the NCrdquoWith PTI inputs