Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday called for clarity on the future of the Opposition INDIA bloc, saying that the alliance should either work together or disband if its purpose was limited to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, ANI reported.

“It is unfortunate that no meeting of the INDIA bloc has taken place,” India Today quoted Abdullah as saying. “Who will lead? What will be the agenda? How will the alliance move forward? There is no discussion on these issues. There is no clarity on whether we will remain united or not.”

Abdullah urged the members of the bloc to convene a meeting after the Delhi Assembly elections to resolve its objectives.

“If it was only for the Lok Sabha elections, then end the alliance,” he said. “But, if it is to continue for the Assembly elections as well, then we must work together.”

The National Conference leader said that the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and other political parties should decide how they can effectively fight the Bharatiya Janata Party, he told reporters.

The Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress are contesting the Delhi polls separately even though they are members of the INDIA bloc at the national level.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah added: “The alliance exists to strengthen the country and remove hatred. Those who think it was just for parliamentary elections should come out of this misconception.”

On Wednesday, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said that the INDIA bloc was formed solely to counter the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha polls. “The alliance had no significance beyond that,” he said.

Adding to the discord, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party have backed the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi polls, Business Today reported.

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal dismissed the INDIA bloc’s role in the elections, saying: “The Delhi election is not of the INDIA alliance. It is a BJP vs AAP contest.”

The Delhi polls will be held in a single phase on February 5, with votes to be counted on February 8.