Congress declines ‘risky’ seat offered by NC
Srinagar: In the first major strain within the ruling alliance in Jammu & Kashmir, the Congress party on Sunday announced that it will not contest the “risky” Rajya Sabha seat being offered by the National Conference.
Speaking to reporters, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Pradesh Congress Committee President Tariq Hamid Karra said the party will not contest the fourth seat. “There was a marathon discussion on the Rajya Sabha elections. The unanimous view among members was that our central leadership had sought a safer seat-either seat number 1 or 2. However, the National Conference offered us seat number 4, which is comparatively less safe. Given these circumstances, it was unanimously decided that we will not field a candidate for seat number 4 and will leave the decision to our alliance partners,” Karra said.
He added that the party has conveyed its position to the National Conference leadership. “We officially wrote a letter to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah regarding our viewpoint. He asked us to forward the letter to Farooq Abdullah, which we have done. We have not received any response yet,” he said.
Karra further said that Congress members expressed resentment and unhappiness over governance, public issues, developmental challenges, and administrative shortcomings, as well as the absence of a coordination committee among alliance partners. “There was an open discussion on these matters. We will convey our inputs and opinions to the central leadership and seek their guidance on the future course of action,” he said.
He also said that the party will open channels of communication with the Congress leadership regarding the upcoming by-elections.
In a statement issued to the media in the evening, the party said a marathon meeting of the core committee of prominent Congress leaders from Jammu and Kashmir was held at PCC headquarters in Srinagar, where the overall experience of one year of the Congress-NC coalition was discussed in detail.
“The elections to the four Rajya Sabha seats and the by-elections to two vacant Assembly seats-Nagrota and Budgam-also came up for discussion,” the statement said.
It further states that all participants freely expressed their views on the functioning of the coalition and the adherence to coalition principles by the alliance partners. “A number of participants, including MLAs, expressed strong reservations over the non-resolution of public issues, including contentious political, administrative, and developmental matters,” the statement added.
The meeting expressed dismay over the unilateral announcement by the senior coalition partner, the National Conference, of its three candidates and the offer of a fourth seat to the Congress, despite earlier assurances to the Congress leadership of being allotted a secure seat. “The meeting expressed surprise over the circumstances or pressures under which the NC leadership reversed its earlier commitment. It was stated that the offered seat is not acceptable to the Congress party.
In View of the situation, it was unanimously decided not to field a candidate for the said seat,” the statement concluded—(KNO)
