Srinagar: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi along with party president Mallikarjun Kharge addresses a press conference after the party workers’ meeting, in Srinagar on Thursday, August 22, 2024. (Photo: PTI)
Congress leaders on Thursday vowed to fight for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and said they wanted opposition parties in the Union Territory to contest the upcoming Assembly elections as part of a single alliance.
The Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) announced that it has sealed an alliance with the Congress in all 90 seats of the J&K Assembly.
It is not yet clear whether the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led by Mehbooba Mufti will be part of the alliance.
Asked if the PDP could be part of the alliance, Abdullah said: “There are no closed doors for anyone.”
He said the seat-sharing agreement would be announced before each phase of the election.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi were on a visit to J&K where they met party workers and the leadership of its ally NC.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Congress and the NC had a seat-sharing formula with each other, but not with the PDP. The PDP and the NC are both components of the Congress-led INDIA bloc.
In his meeting with Kharge and Gandhi, Abdullah said, “The alliance is on track and God willing it will work smoothly. The alliance is final. It will be signed this afternoon and the alliance is on 90 seats.”
He said Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former legislator MY Tarigami will also be part of the alliance.
The three-phase elections to the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will be held on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The results will be declared on October 4.
Explaining the need for an alliance in J&K, Kharge told a press conference in Srinagar that the INDIA bloc “prevented a dictator from coming to power with an absolute majority at the Centre”.
He noted that the government has been forced to reverse several of its decisions or refer proposed amendments to the Waqf Act to a joint committee of Parliament.
Earlier in the day, addressing party workers, Gandhi said the INDIA bloc has undermined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “confidence”.
Referring to former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who left the Congress to start his own party, Gandhi said some people could not bear the tough times and ran away.
First published: August 22, 2024 | 21:32 IS
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