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NC, Cong seal poll-pact in J&K

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 3/22/2019 12:06:42 AM

# Cong not to contest Srinagar seat # NC not to field candidates on Jammu seats

JAMMU, Mar 20: In a major political development, Congress and National Conference Wednesday formally stitched an alliance for seat sharing of Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir.
As per the arrangement worked out by the leadership of the two parties, Congress will not field any candidate against National Conference president and former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah contesting from Srinagar Lok Sabha seat while NC will not field any candidate against Congress on two Lok Sabha seats in Jammu region. The two parties will have a contest in a friendly atmosphere on the remaining three seats of Baramulla, Anantnag and Ladakh.
The formal announcement to this effect was made here in a joint press conference by the top leadership of NC and Congress led by NC president and former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdulla and the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, AICC general secretary incharge J&K Affairs Ambika Soni in the presence of senior leaders of the two parties. The state sends six MPs to Lok Sabha.
Addressing joint press conference at his residence at Bathindi here, Farooq said that National Conference would contest all the three seats of the valley, Baramulla, Srinagar, Anantnag and Ladakh. However, the party would not field its candidates in Jammu and Udhampur seats to ensure that the secular votes were not divided, he said.
Azad declared that keeping in view the stature of Dr Farooq Abdullah in the national and the state politics, the Congress would not field its candidate against him from Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency. He said all Congress leaders would also campaign for NC president, who would be the joint candidate from the Srinagar parliamentary seat, which he represents at present.
He lauded the crucial role being played by Dr Farooq Abdullah in the national politics in strengthening secular forces and isolating the divisive parties, which, he said, “pose grave threat to the unity of the country.” He said the nation had been hugely heeding to the advice of the towering National Conference leader which was greatly witnessed during the opposition conclaves in various parts of the country including Kolkata.
Senior leaders of the two parties present on the occasion included PCC chief G A Mir, veteran NC leader Mohammed Shafi Uri, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Nawang Rigzin Jora, provincial presidents of NC Devinder Singh Rana and Nasir Aslam Sogami besides chief spokesperson JKPCC Ravinder Sharma. The announcement in the afternoon followed after formal talks by the team of top Congress leaders led by Azad and Ambika Soni accompanied by Mir and Jora with the NC president in the presence of other senior NC leaders at his residence earlier this morning.
The deal was sealed three days after NC vice president Omar Abdullah had said NC candidates would contest from three Lok Sabha seats of Kashmir and was open for an alliance with Congress if it agreed to leave three seats in the Valley to his party.
Azad accompanied by Soni arrived here this morning and straightway went to Farooq’s residence to formally stitch the arrangement.
While stressing the need for strengthening inclusive ethos of the nation, Farooq advised the Congress to stitch alliance with the like-minded parties elsewhere in the country in order to meeting the challenge posed by divisive and communal forces. NC president said the two parties were also discussing an arrangement for the Ladakh Lok Sabha seat. Farooq said that the country was passing through a crucial phase and there was an urgent need to unite to foil the machinations of the divisive forces.
The National Conference president said the aim was that seats should be either won by NC or Congress. “Secular parties should emerge as winners,’’ he added.
Azad said that all right thinking forces opposed to such kind of politics needed to work together. “The alliance has been finalised in national interest and will strengthen the secular forces in J&K as the state faces threat from Pakistan,” Azad stated while responding to media queries. “Live and let live. This is the best decision taken in national interest. If either the Congress or National Conference wins, it is a win-win situation for both,” he said. Azad said the tie-up would ensure there was no division of secular votes and BJP did not benefit.
“If in Jammu, NC would have fielded candidates that could have helped BJP and in Kashmir if we would have contested separately the transfer of votes would have been difficult. The places where there will be a friendly contest we won’t have any cut throat competition. Our aim will be to beat third force even in Kashmir. At places where there will be friendly contest whether NC or Congress wins it does not make any difference,” Azad said. “We all will campaign for Farooq Abdullah as he is a legendary leader and belongs to both the parties,” the Congress leader said.
After the announcement of seat arrangement with NC, Azad and Soni flew back to New Delhi in the afternoon. “The announcement of the Lok Sabha candidates of the Congress party for the state will be made by the party high command any time now,” said Ravinder Sharma the chief spokesperson of JKPCC.
Mir said the party high command would be naming candidates for the Lok Sabha seats. “Our coalition will win all the seats,” he maintained. The NC has already named three candidates from Kashmir. While Farooq, who is a sitting MP, will contest from Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, former minister Akbar Lone will be contesting from Baramulla seat. The party has named former High court judge Hasnain Masoodi from Anantnag Lok Sabha seat. Under the new arrangement, the NC has to only name a candidate from Ladakh. In 2014, Congress candidate Ghulam Reza lost the Ladakh seat by 36 votes to the BJP candidate.
Though Congress has yet to name its candidates, it is being presumed that it may field Ghulam Ahmad Mir from South Kashmir and Salman Soz, son of former J&KPCC president Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz from Baramulla Lok Sabha seat. In 2014 the NC and Congress had contested elections on all six seats jointly and lost all the seats to PDP and the BJP. However, in 2017 bye-elections, Farooq Abdullah emerged victorious amid low voter turnout.