The News Craving
Srinagar:
Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Monga has said that discussions are underway with the NC leadership on allocation of parliamentary seats for the upcoming polls.
This came after NC earlier said that, ” On the seat sharing, we have been very clear for the last few months…the seats that will be discussed are those that are held with BJP, we are firm on that position. NC has made no secrets about the fact that they would rather fight elections on all seats, but the truth is that sometimes for a bigger objective, small sacrifices have to be made. If the bigger objective is to win seats back from the BJP…then if it is necessary for NC to enter into seat sharing with Congress, our doors are open. We have not yet had any formal discussion with Congress (on seat sharing), informally some dialogues have taken place…we are not the sort of a party that has our feet in multiple boats, once we make friends, we stick to those friends.”
Talking to Newscraving, Monga said, “Discussions are underway with the NC leadership on the allocation of parliamentary seats for the upcoming polls. We could contest all 6 Lok Sabha seats together including a one in Ladakh.”
National Conference (NC) has signaled its desire to contest all seats it secured in the last elections, leaving the rest for its potential ally, the Congress. However, it remains unclear how many seats the NC and Congress would leave for the PDP in their potential pre-poll alliance. Observers suggest that the parties may contest independently, but could leave the option of government formation open in the event of a fractured mandate.
In the previous Lok Sabha elections, the National Conference secured victories in all three Kashmir seats, defeating various parties including the Congress. Notably, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured the third position in the Anantnag segment. Both seats in the Jammu division were claimed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Earlier Congress party, announced the appointment of coordinators for five Lok Sabha seats in the Union Territory. Ghulam Nabi Monga will oversee the Baramulla seat, while Abdul Rashid Dar, Yogesh Sawhney, Ravinder Sharma, and Naresh Gupta have been designated coordinators for Srinagar, Anantnag-Rajouri, Udhampur, and Jammu respectively.
The Congress in Jammu and Kashmir has submitted a roster of potential candidates to the party’s high command in New Delhi, following which the NC president and former CM, Farooq Abdullah, said that the party will contest on its own.
For the Baramulla-Kupwara constituency, the roster includes Saif u Din Soz, G N Monga, Abdul Rashid Dar, and Bashir Ahmad Khan.
In the Srinagar-Budgam region, the Congress has nominated leaders such as former finance minister Tariq Hameed Karra, senior vice president Mohd Anwar Bhat, Congress Mahila president Shameema Raina, and loyalist Arshid Ahmad Tantray.
Moving to the Anantnag-Rajouri area, the party has selected some former legislators, including Ghulam Muhammad Mir, Peerzada Mohd Sayeed, Shabir Ahmad Khan, and Jahangir Ahmad Khan.
In the Jammu-Kathua segment, candidates proposed include present working president Raman Bhalla to former deputy CM Tara Chand, alongside Mula Ram, Ravinder Sharma, and Neeraj Kundan.
For the Udhampur-Doda region the probables are current PCC president Vikar Rasool Wani alongside Thakur Balbir Singh and Mohinder Bhardwaj.