national-conference-to-contest-all-seats-in-kashmir-indi-bloc-discussions-centred-on-bjp-held-seats

The National Conference (NC) affirmed on Tuesday its resolution to contend for all three Lok Sabha seats within the Kashmir valley, while it engages in discussions with the Congress about three seats in the regions of Jammu and Ladakh.

 

Both parties are constituents of the opposing INDIA alliance. This strategy was formulated during a lengthy meeting of its legislative board at the party’s headquarters in Srinagar.

 

Nasir Aslam Wani, the NC’s provincial president for Kashmir, declared after the meeting, "The National Conference will stand for these three valley seats independently."

 

However, discussions are underway with the Congress regarding an electoral pact for two seats in Jammu and one in Ladakh, as indicated by the NC, led by Farooq Abdullah.

 

"For the remaining three seats, including that of Ladakh, our talks with the Congress are in progress," Wani communicated during a press briefing.

 

He also mentioned, "The NC intends to enter the Kashmir elections autonomously, without the backing of the INDIA bloc."

 

In the previous 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the NC emerged victorious across all three seats in Kashmir, while the BJP retained the three other constituencies, namely Jammu, Udhampur, and Ladakh.

 

Jairam Ramesh, the Congress General Secretary responsible for communications, corroborated that the seat-sharing discussions for Jammu and Kashmir have yet to conclude. He made these remarks at a news conference in Shajapur, Madhya Pradesh, where he was attending the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi.

 

"The Congress has successfully negotiated seat-sharing with other INDIA bloc parties, save for West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir," Ramesh stated, highlighting the strength of the alliance.

 

"With the majority of the 28 parties on board, and a few more expected to join from Maharashtra, our negotiations for Jammu and Kashmir are nearing completion."

 

Ramesh alluded to a minor postponement in West Bengal but assured that agreements with other parties have been finalised, leaving only West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir in the queue for confirmation.

 

The NC has previously made it clear that their discussions will primarily concentrate on the seats currently under BJP control.