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Rediff.com  » Election » Omar Abdullah wins Srinagar, rules out alliance with Congress

Omar Abdullah wins Srinagar, rules out alliance with Congress

By Rediff Election Bureau
May 13, 2004 15:49 IST
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National Conference President Omar Abdullah expressed relief at having won the Srinagar parliamentary seat.

He won the seat in a 13-cornered contest that included  Ghulam Nabi Lone of the ruling People's Democratic Party.

Speaking to the NDTV 24x7 television news channel, he said it was a tough fight and was grateful for the faith that both the party and the constituency had reposed in him.

When asked if he was disappointed that his party has won only two Lok Sabha seats as opposed to the four seats it had won in 1999, Abdullah said the frame of reference should be the 2002 assembly election where the National Conference had failed miserably.

Abdullah was defeated in the Ganderbal assembly seat that election.

He ruled out any possibility of the National Conference aligning with the Congress at the Centre for the moment.

"We will sit in the Opposition. The Congress has an alliance with the PDP in the state," he said. "Until the situation in the state changes, we will not be able consider any kind of alliance with the Congress at the Centre."

Abdullah's brother-in-law Sachin Pilot -- who is married to his sister Sara -- also won the Lok Sabha election from Dausa in Rajasthan.

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Rediff Election Bureau