Omar Abdullah: Unfortunate that INDIA alliance not strong right now

National Conference Vice-President and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has called the internal fights in Opposition alliance INDIA an “unfortunate” situation.

"It is unfortunate that the condition of the INDIA Alliance is not strong right now. There are some internal fights which should not be there, especially in the four to five states where there are elections,” said Abdullah.

Expressing his concern over the internal fighting, Omar Abdullah said, “The way fight between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress surfaced and both said that they will contest all seats in UP, this is not good for the INDIA alliance. Maybe we will meet again after the state elections. We will try to sit and work together."

The INDIA allies, Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) have lately been in discord over seat-sharing for Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections in 2023.

The relationship between the SP and the Congress party has been strained lately, with Akhilesh Yadav being dissatisfied over the seat-sharing strategy for the forthcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly election. The SP was hoping to strike up an alliance to topple the BJP government in the state. However, nothing of that sort has happened and now, Yadav has deemed it to be a "betrayal" and has been attacking the Congress ally publicly.

On October 21, reports stated that the SP chief said that the Congress should inform his side "straight that they don't need Samajwadis". Akhilesh had then said, "I promise you that we will not talk about alliance even once and will begin preparation to defeat the BJP on our own".

Akhilesh Yadav also responded to former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath's 'Akhilesh Vakhilesh' remark, sarcastically saying that the latter's name carries Kamal (lotus - the official symbol of BJP).

The continuing tension between the SP and Congress poses scepticism regarding the INDIA bloc's future, months before the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, the SP announced its third list of two candidates on October 19 and has so far announced 33 names for the November 17 polls to the 230-member assembly in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress has announced its candidates for 229 seats.