Owais Gul
Srinagar, Sep 29: The reconciliation between the National Conference (NC) and its Member Parliament (MP), Aga Ruhullah Mehdi seems to be in the making as the Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to announce bypolls for the Udhampur and Budgam assembly segments soon.
Sources said that the party has opened backchannel talks between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the Srinagar MP, with signs of a thaw beginning to emerge.
Senior NC leaders said the party has been holding parleys with its otherwise disgruntled parliamentarian to seek common ground and keep the opposition at bay during the forthcoming assembly bypolls.
The Budgam seat fell vacant after Chief Minister Abdullah retained the Ganderbal constituency. The Udhampur assembly seat became vacant following the demise of BJP leader Devender Singh Rana.
“Winning Budgam is very crucial for the party at this point. We cannot afford to lose this segment. The BJP may field proxies to gain ground, and losing it means losing whatever we stood for till now,” a senior NC functionary said.
He added that the leadership has been in continuous talks with Ruhullah to bridge differences. “We need to take Aga Sahab on board. He is already there. What was needed was to clarify past differences and find common ground, as our larger fight is the same – to keep the BJP, PDP, and their proxies at bay,” he said.
Meanwhile, sources close to the MP said the firebrand leader has agreed to mount a united fight against the BJP and support the National Conference. “You must have come across Aga Sahab’s recent statement. He openly seconded Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s call not to allow the BJP to come to power in Jammu and Kashmir. That is enough to understand the current situation,” they said.
They, however, added that discussions on candidate selection are still underway, and a consensus is needed.
Budgam is considered Ruhullah’s bastion, and his campaigning for the NC candidate could prove decisive, with the potential to turn the tide in the party’s favour.
