Congress sends top leaders to J&K over seat-sharing dispute with NC
The Congress has dispatched two of its senior leaders, KC Venugopal and Salman Khurshid, to Srinagar. This move comes as the party faces a deadlock in seat-sharing discussions with the National Conference (NC) for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. The last date for filing nominations for the first phase of these polls is Tuesday. Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party released its first list of 82 candidates for the J&K polls on Monday.
Why does this story matter?
The J&K Assembly elections will be held in three phases—September 18, September 25, and October 1. Results are set to be announced on October 4. This election is crucial as it follows the Centre's 2019 decision to revoke J&K's special status and reconstitute it into two Union Territories. To recall, the last assembly elections took place in 2014, but the government was dissolved in 2018 when the BJP withdrew support from Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's Peoples Democratic Party.
Venugopal, Khurshid to meet Abdullahs today
Venugopal and Khurshid are scheduled to meet NC president Farooq Abdullah and his son, party vice-president Omar Abdullah, today. This meeting aims to resolve the differences that have arisen between the two parties. Previously, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi had met with the Abdullahs. They had agreed on jointly contesting the elections but disagreements over seat distribution have stalled further negotiations.
Seat-sharing consensus largely reached: Omar Abdullah
Omar Abdullah recently stated that seat-sharing with the Congress has been largely finalized for most assembly seats. He revealed, "Consensus has been reached to a large extent. I can tell you that we have reached a consensus on the maximum seats out of the 90." However, he acknowledged that disagreements persist on some seats where both parties remain firm in their stance.
NC offers Congress seats in Kashmir Valley, Jammu
According to sources, the National Conference has proposed to allocate five seats to the Congress in the Kashmir Valley and between 28-30 seats in the Jammu region. However, this offer has been met with resistance from the Congress as it seeks more representation, including in areas traditionally dominated by the National Conference. The possibility of a friendly contest on some contested seats was suggested by the NC but rejected by local Congress leaders.
