Hyderabad: Nursing a strained relationship with National Conference (NC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on October 11 made it clear that it would not persuade its estranged ally to continue in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and termed the poll outcome in Jammu and Kashmir as a "reflection of anti-incumbency sentiment against the state government".

"They (NC leaders) had made some statements (on pulling out of the Central coalition). Let them take a stand. We will not persuade anybody," the BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in Hyderabad.

Asserting that the poll verdict in Jammu and Kashmir was not a reflection on NDA, he said it was purely based on local situation and anti-incumbency factor.

"There was a strong sense of alienation in Jammu and Ladakh regions and people felt that they were discriminated against in terms of financial allocations and development," Naidu said on the sidelines of a national conference on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights in Hyderabad.

Admitting that the BJP put up a poor show in Jammu region, where it claims to have a considerable influence, he attributed the setback to the problems in its seat sharing agreement with RSS-led Jammu State Morcha (JSM).

Unfortunately, in some places this agreement was not adhered to by JSM, the BJP chief said.

PTI