Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said he is “seriously considering” becoming a party to the petitions in the Supreme Court seeking restoration of statehood to the Union Territory. “I have had conversations with very senior lawyers in both J&K and Delhi about the possibility of becoming a party to this case, as Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, because I don’t think anybody else understands the disadvantages we are put through by being a Union Territory more than I do,” he said during a press conference in Srinagar, IE reported.

Emphasising his unique position to represent the issue, Omar added, “I am the only person in the country with the experience of having served as Chief Minister of J&K when it was a state and now as CM of a UT.” He confirmed that discussions with his legal team were ongoing and that “there is a possibility” he will formally join the case after receiving their opinion.

The petitions were last heard in the Supreme Court on October 10, when a Bench led by Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran granted the Centre four weeks to respond. The pleas filed by Zahoor Ahmed Bhat (a teacher) and Khurshid Ahmad Malik (an activist) contend that the continued denial of statehood “violates the principle of federalism, which forms a part of the basic structure of the Constitution”.

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According to the IE report, Omar also ruled out any alliance with the BJP and said, “Tying up with the BJP is out of the question. We have already seen how much that destroyed J&K. The PDP-BJP alliance in 2015 caused lasting damage—we are still suffering its aftereffects.”

The CM said that his party National Conference will field its candidate from Budgam in the upcoming bypolls for one seat each in Kashmir and Jammu.