The Congress party in Jammu and Kashmir seems poised to take on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“We’re putting together a strong coalition that will sweep the polls,” said an upbeat Vikar Rasool Wani, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee.
Wani revealed that the three parties are currently ironing out the details of their seat-sharing arrangement and expect to make a formal announcement in the first week of March.
“The India bloc will fight with full unity and strength. In Jammu and Kashmir, you’ll soon hear that the Congress, NC, and PDP have finalized seat-sharing and will contest jointly,” he stated.
While admitting that each party can make tall claims about wanting to contest numerous seats, Wani pointed out that there are only six Lok Sabha constituencies in the state, including Ladakh. “With an alliance, parties compromise through talks and distribute seats amicably. Wherever one party contests, it will have the full backing of the other two,” he clarified.
Wani also made a case for synchronizing the Lok Sabha elections with the pending Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls. “We demand that both elections be held simultaneously. If the situation allows parliamentary polls, why not assembly too?” he argued.
With the Supreme Court directing assembly elections by September, Wani said holding separate polls and wasting resources would be pointless. “It’s prudent to have simultaneous elections rather than double expenditure months apart,” he asserted.
