Owais Gul
Srinagar, Aug 26: After two-rounds of meeting on Monday, the regional National Conference (NC) and Indian National Congress (INC) have finally reached the consensus and decided to fight the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir unitedly on all the 90 seats. However, the leaders this evening informed that there will be a friendly contest on five seats in Jammu and Kashmir.
The INC and NC leaders held discussions over seat sharing from this afternoon. The first meeting lasted for nearly hours while in the evening; the leaders met again and finalized the seat-sharing.
The meetings were held in cordial atmosphere, Dr Farooq Abdullah while addressing the media persons this evening said, adding that the INDI Alliance was formed at the national level with an aim to keep the forces hell-bent to divide the people on communal lines away. “We happily announce that we have reached a consensus in a cordial atmosphere,” he said.
Abdullah was accompanied by INC leaders including its General Secretary (Organization) K C Venugopal and JKPCC President Tariq Hameed Karra.
Venugopal said that the general idea behind the alliance was aimed to save the soul of Kashmir, therefore, the parties have come together to fight unitedly and form the next dispensation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Tariq Hameed Karra while addressing the media persons said that the understanding between the two parties was done in the cordial atmosphere, adding that some of the contentious constituencies were also reviewed.
“We have decided that NC will contest from 51 seats while INC will field its candidates from 32 seats. We have agreed and narrowed down the number of the constituencies to five seats only where the friendly contest will be held between the two parties in a much disciplined manner from the both sides,” Karra divulged.
He, however, said that two seats including one each will be given to CPI (M) and Panthers Party. “We will start issuing the list of candidates from now,” he said.
Pertinently, the announcement comes after INC dispatched two of its senior leaders, KC Venugopal and Salman Khurshid to Srinagar to end the deadlock with NC over seat-sharing discussions for the crucial polls.
The duo along with some of the leaders from J&K including G A Mir and others held a series of talks with NC President Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Vice President Omar Abdullah, and other leaders at Gupkar residence of senior Abdullah.
Notably, the last date for filing nominations for the first phase of these polls is Tuesday.
Furthermore, if sources are to be believed, the friendly contest will be on three seats of Chenab Valley which include Banihal, from where former PCC President Vikar Rasool Wani is contesting and NC will be fielding Sajad Shaheen.
On Doda seat, NC is set to give mandate to Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy and Congress is fielding Riaz Ahmed Sheikh and on Bhaderwah seat, Congress party’s nominee was Nadeem Sharief and now NC has given ticket to Mehboob Iqbal.
Moreover, the leaders when asked about the BJP raising questions over alliance between INC and NC, Venugopal said that it is the same party, who was in alliance with NC and PDP earlier. However, he said that after forming the government, there will be a common minimum programme. Every political party has its own agenda and raising issues over the agendas won’t work.
He also said that the BJP has cheated the people.
As soon as the press conference concluded, Omar Abdullah spoke to media persons and stated that it was difficult for both the parties to decide on the five seats including three from NC and two from INC, therefore, it was unanimously decided to go for the friendly elections there.
However, he said that without informing the alliance partners, CPI had announced their candidate from Devsar and the senior leader Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami was informed about it by Dr Farooq Abdullah, who later decided to withdraw from the seat.
