Jammu, Oct 24 : Jammu and Kashmir''s National Conference (NC) president Omar Abdullah has slammed the separatist groups for boycotting forthcoming Assembly provincial polls.

Abdullah said the separatists were trying to take advantage of the volatile situation since the Amarnath shrine land row erupted earlier this year.

“Now all of a sudden because of the Amarnath shrine land issue, the political situation in the valley has changed to some extent. Now, once again they want to link polls with the Kashmir issue. I think, under circumstances like this, people will recognize and respect parties like NC which remain consistent regardless of the public outcome or the outcry that those policies might give rise to,” said Abdullah.

The party kick-started its election campaign ahead of the seven-phase polls from November 17 to December 24.

The second phase of elections will be held on November 23 and third phase will take place on November 30. The fourth phase will take place on December 7 while the fifth, sixth and seventh phases will be held on December 13, 17 and 24 respectively.

Counting of votes will be held on December 28.

There are a total of 8109 polling stations in the state. (ANI)