Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said her party would contest all three Lok Sabha seats in the Valley after rival-turned-ally Omar Abdullah of the National Conference on Tuesday claimed her PDP was unlikely to contest the upcoming elections.

Calling out Omar’s “bluff”, a visibly angry Mehbooba said he had publicly snubbed the PDP with his “harsh” remarks insinuating that her party had become irrelevant. She said the PDP now had no option but to go solo in the three seats.

The two parties deciding to break ties is not only a setback to the INDIA bloc but also to the multi-party Gupkar alliance, fighting for the restoration of Article 370, of which both have been key players.

The development led to fears that the two parties were unlikely to join hands in the Assembly elections due in September, which might give the BJP a vantage point in the Valley.

Mehbooba said she wanted the two parties to jointly fight the BJP and its “secret allies” in Kashmir.

“You saw how Omar sahab spoke publicly, without talking to us, without taking us into confidence. You saw how he announced the decision that the PDP does not exist,” she told reporters.

“Just imagine what would happen to my workers who are standing behind me like a rock. As you are aware, the BJP broke my party and my senior leaders were taken out. My workers, however, stood behind me. They go hungry and spend from their own pockets to join our meetings. Omar sahab’s words were a huge setback for them and it has broken their hearts,” she said.

The PDP has borne the brunt of the BJP-led government’s actions against pro-India parties here. The PDP was split and many senior leaders quit it to float a new party or join other parties.

Omar had on Tuesday suggested that the Mehbooba-led party would refrain from fielding candidates against the National Conference (NC) in the three seats in the Valley. Earlier, he had suggested that the PDP had significantly weakened.

“Omar sahab’s remarks were not only a humiliation for me but for my workers as well. Now, tell me what is the option I am left with (but to contest separately),” Mehbooba said.

“And who are we to support them (NC) if Omar sahab does not even count us? We are an impoverished party but we will field candidates and leave it to the people to see what they decide and whose voice they want to send to Parliament,” she said.

Mehbooba said the party’s parliamentary board would soon announce the candidates after consultations. On whether the PDP intends to field candidates for the two Jammu seats, she said her party had not thought about it yet. The Congress, an INDIA bloc partner of the PDP, is contesting from the two Jammu seats.

Reacting to her remarks, Omar said Mehbooba does not want any alliance even for the Assembly polls. “What can I say? We had kept the door open but if they have shut the door, it is not my fault,” he told reporters.