National Conference and Congress agree on seat-sharing in Jammu and Kashmir
The Congress and the National Conference have agreed on a deal to share the 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of next month’s election, senior leaders of both sides said on Monday evening, successfully ending the talks hours before the deadline for filing nominations for the first phase.
The NC will contest the majority of seats – 51 – and the Congress 32, Congress’ Jammu and Kashmir unit chief Tariq Hameed Karra told reporters, adding that two seats will be left for the CPIM and the Panthers Party.
Significantly, the five seats will witness a “friendly but disciplined contest”, indicating that the differences between the two parties – both of which are part of India’s opposition bloc – have not been completely ironed out even though the Congress sent two senior leaders to Srinagar this morning.
This will be the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade; The 2019 election was not held after the Centre scrapped Articles 370 and 35A and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.
NC chief and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah told the press, “It is a matter of great joy… We have launched this campaign together against the forces trying to divide people here. The India Bloc was formed so that we can fight the forces that want to communalise, divide and break the country.”
