Srinagar: This week, three parties that are important to the INDIA bloc are expected to decide whether to join a "third front" in Jammu and Kashmir. All three parties are eligible to run for one seat in the Valley each if the Third Front emerges.
The J&K Apni Party, led by prominent businessman and former PDP leader Altaf Bukhari, the DPAP led by former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, and the Peoples Conference led by Sajjad Gani Lone, are reportedly in discussions to form a Third Front.
“We have proposed discussions with various like-minded parties interested in advancing the welfare of the people of J&K,” said Apni Party general secretary Rafi Mir.
The National Conference, PDP, and Congress are the three INDIA parties that the three parties oppose, and they wish to present themselves as an alternative, The New Indian Express reported.
Apni Party and DPAP were two of the three parties that were founded after Article 370 was revoked, but the Peoples Conference gained prominence in politics following the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition government in June 2018 and numerous leaders deserting PDP.
Discussions are ongoing to build a "grand alliance" with like-minded groups, such as the Peoples Conference, Apni Party, and several former MLAs, according to DPAP main spokesperson Salman Nizami.
“The talks are in the initial stage. The decision on the formation of the third front may be taken this week,” he said.
Although the proposed grand coalition is intended for the Lok Sabha elections, Nizami stated that there is a chance the alliance will continue for the assembly elections.
Azad will lead the coalition, which is primarily aimed at the three Valley seats of Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar, and Baramulla.
According to sources, Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference (PC) is in communication with the leadership of both the DPAP and the Apni Party over the pre-poll coalition.
Sources say that if the third front is successful then Azad may contest from the Anantnag-Rajouri LS seat, Apni Party leader Altaf Bukhari will run from the Srinagar seat, PC chairman Sajad Lone from the Baramulla LS seat will be supported by both the DPAP and JKAP, and Azad may run from the Anantnag-Rajouri LS seat. Sajad Lone has declared his intention to run for the Baramulla LS seat.
Political pundits predicted that the third front would provide a significant threat to NC, which is determined to run for all three of the Valley's LS seats because the party had won each one in the 2019 polls. The third front, though, might make it challenging for the NC to hold onto every seat.
They claimed that Sajad Lone, with the backing of the Apni Party and Azad, may emerge as a formidable rival to NC from the Baramulla seat and that Azad's arrival from the Anantnag-Rajouri seat may be advantageous to the BJP.