Cong-NC alliance: Disagreement over 10 seats persists

Srinagar, Aug 23: With National Conference (NC) and Congress forging an alliance for the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, a disagreement over 10 seats continues to persist between the two parties.
Jammu and Kashmir is gearing up for its long-awaited Assembly elections, the first since the region became a Union Territory in 2019 and the first in a decade. The elections for the 90 seats will be held in three phases: September 18, 25, and October 1, with vote counting scheduled for October 4.

On Thursday, top Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge met NC’s Farooq Abdullah at his residence to finalize the pre-poll alliance. Omar Abdullah, Farooq’s son, was also present at the meeting. Following the discussions, Farooq Abdullah announced that leaders of both parties had decided to form an alliance for the upcoming polls.
However, sources revealed that disagreements over seat allocation persist between the parties. This was confirmed by senior National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, who stated that a final consensus on a few seats with Congress has yet to be reached.
Omar Abdullah made this statement during a media interaction in Kulgam, where he accompanied party leader Sakina Itoo to the District Election Office as she filed her nomination from the Damhal Hanjipora seat in the south Kashmir district.
“There is yet to be an agreement with Congress on a few seats. Negotiations are ongoing, and discussions will be held today to finalize the seat-sharing proposal,” he said.
“Most of the seats have been finalized, but there are a few where the parties are still negotiating. A meeting will be held today to resolve these issues and finalize the alliance,” he added.
On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi also assured party workers and leaders that any coalition formed in Jammu and Kashmir would not compromise their interests. “There will be a coalition in J&K, but not at the cost of Congress workers’ and leaders’ interests. All workers should remain assured that there will be no compromise on their respect,” he said.
A senior Congress leader noted that Rahul Gandhi shared the concerns of his party leaders and workers with the Abdullahs during the meeting. “The pre-poll alliance has been finalized, but disagreements over 10 seats remain,” the leader said.
He said Congress and NC leaders have decided that the seats where disagreements persist will see a friendly contest, with both parties potentially fielding their candidates.
The Kashmir Valley has 47 assembly segments, while the Jammu region has 43 seats. The NC and Congress – both part of the INDIA bloc – had previously entered into a pre-poll alliance during the Lok Sabha elections in J&K earlier this year. The Congress fielded candidates from the two Lok Sabha seats in the Jammu region, while the NC contested the three seats in the Kashmir Valley.