Congress to be Junior Partner in J&K as NC to Contest on 51 Out of 90 Seats

Srinagar/New Delhi: The Congress and National Conference have finalized a seat-sharing agreement for all 90 constituencies in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections. Congress will contest 32 seats, while the National Conference will vie for 51 seats. Additionally, a friendly contest will take place in 5 constituencies. The CPI(M) and Panthers Party will each contest from one seat.

Speaking to reporters on seat sharing between Congress and the National Conference for Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections, the state Congress chief, Tariq Hameed Karra said that the National Conference will contest 51 seats, Congress on 32.  "We have agreed to have a friendly but disciplined contest on 5 seats. Over and above these 88 seats, we have left 1 seat for CPI (M) and 1 seat for Panthers Party...", he stated.

Meanwhile, Congress leader KC Venugopal did not leave a chance to attack the BJP. Speaking to reporters, Venugopal said the party is trying to destroy the soul of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Our alliance's (INDI) main objective is to save the soul of Jammu and Kashmir so that is why Congress and National Conference is coming together to make a government in Jammu & Kashmir which is totally friendly with the people of J&K. We have done a discussion in accordance and we entered into a formula which our leaders will share now. We will fight together, we will win J&K. We will form the government in Jammu and Kashmir...", he added. 

The leaders said the list of seats each party will be contesting, as well as the names of the candidates, will be issued in due course. 

Earlier in the day, the BJP issued a list of 16 candidates for the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, considerably pruning an initial list of 44 names following protests by some party cadre who alleged that "parachute candidates" were favoured over dedicated workers. The original list, which included candidates for 36 segments in the Jammu region and eight in the Kashmir Valley, sparked significant dissatisfaction among party workers.

A group of disgruntled members protested at the BJP headquarters in Jammu. While Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina attempted to downplay the discontent, the protests highlighted a growing rift within the party ranks.

Some angry BJP workers from different assembly constituencies staged a protest at the party headquarters over the leadership "ignoring" hardworking workers and giving the mandate to "parachute candidates".

Jagdish Bhagat, president of the BJP's Scheduled Caste Morcha, asserted that long-time members of the party felt overlooked.

"I have been associated with the party for the last 18 years and have worked day and night to strengthen it but the mandate was given to a person who joined the party only a few days back," Bhagat said.

Welcoming the withdrawal of the initial list, he said, "We hope that party leaders would be given the mandate instead of those who have done nothing for the party. If they ignore us, there will be serious consequences. We will not allow any wrongdoing and will protest against this injustice within the party," he added.

The revised list of candidates includes three former MLAs and Shagun Parihar, a woman candidate whose family has faced violence due to their political affiliations. Her father and uncle were killed by terrorists in Kishtwar district in November 2018.

Other notable candidates in the list are former ministers Sunil Sharma and Shakti Raj Parihar from the Jammu region and BJP vice president Sofi Yousuf from the Kashmir Valley.

Former deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh was among the prominent leaders dropped by the BJP.

As of now, 14 candidates have filed their nomination papers for the first phase of elections. August 27 is the last date for filing nominations for the first phase. The process of filing nominations for the second and third phases will begin on August 29 and September 5, respectively.

The counting of votes for the elections will be taken up on October 4.

In the last assembly elections held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2014, when it was a full-fledged state, the BJP had won 25 seats.

The BJP is looking to build on its performance as it faces a rejuvenated challenge from the Congress-National Conference alliance, particularly in the Jammu region.