Municipal, Panchayat polls: Congress participation won’t harm us at gross root level: PDP, NC

Srinagar: The mainstream regional parties who announced to boycott the upcoming Municipal and Panchayat polls in the state, Wednesday said that the participation of Congress in the elections won’t harm their party at the gross root level.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief spokesperson Rafi Ahmad Mir said that their party has thoughtfully decided to stay away from the polls. “Participation of other parties in the polls was also taken into the consideration while the decision to boycott the polls was taken by the party,” he said.
He said that the decision to stay away from the polls was aimed to respect the sentiments of people, therefore “the participation of Congress and BJP in the polls won’t harm PDP at the gross root level at all.”
National Conference (NC) General Secretary and MLA Khanyar, Ali Muhammad Sagar while talking reacting to Congress’s participation in the polls said that congress has its own interests and it has to keep national interests into the consideration as well.
Sagar said that NC has decided to stay away from the [polls over the issue of Article 35-A, currently sub judice, saying that the party won’t go against the aspirations of people and it will always respect the sentiments of people.
“NC has nothing to do with other parties but the party is staying away from the polls to secure the rights and special status of people living in the state,” he said, adding that the people are best judges to decide anything for them.
Earlier in a day, the State Congress had said that it has decided to participate in the upcoming Panchayat and Municipal elections in the state, saying that the decision was taken to keep the communal forces away.
Addressing a presser, JKPCC Chief G A Mir had told reporters that the party has decided not to stay away from the upcoming elections to keep the ground open for the ‘communal forces’ but “we will fight with the full might.”