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| Pre-poll alliance of NC-Congress aborted earlier than expected | | NC terms Congress worse than BJP, says no friendly contest in vogue | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 24: A few days old romance of Congress and National Conference has finally ended on a sour note with leaders of both the parties declaring that they wouldn't support each other during the coming Lok Sabha polls.
Earlier, both the parties had declared a pre-poll alliance in Jammu and Kashmir after confabulating over the issue for days.
Four days ago, on March 20, National Conference and Congress sealed an alliance for three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir and decided to go for friendly contests on three other seats. The state sends six MPs to the Lok Sabha.
The Congress will not field any candidate against NC president Farooq Abdullah from Srinagar while the regional party left the seats of Jammu and Udhampur for the Congress.
Leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad and chairperson coordination committee for elections, Ambika Soni arrived in Jammu on March 19 and finalized the deal with NC president, Farooq Abdullah after other senior leaders of the two parties ironed out the differences during a meeting Tuesday meeting.
The deal was sealed three days after NC vice president Omar Abdullah had said NC candidates will contest from three Lok Sabha seats of Kashmir and was open for an alliance with Congress if it agrees to leave three seats in the Valley to his party. Farooq Abdullah at that time said that the NC and Congress leaders had threadbare discussion on an alliance in the state.
However, on Sunday, what tore apart the chances of any alliance between NC and Congress was the statement issued by none other than NC's Lok Sabha candidate from north Kashmir's Baramulla constituency- Akbar Lone. According to him, they will have no friendly contest during the polls- a statement which goes contrary to what NC's president Farooq Abdullah had made earlier. "There is no friendly contest between Congress and NC. Congress is more dangerous than BJP and we have tough contest with Congress than BJP," Lone was quoted as having said by a local news agency.
There are also chances that the two parties may announce breaking up of the alliance and part ways. "This is annoying. How could a person who is contesting with our support use such derogatory language against us in open? He sometimes raises Pro- Pakistan slogans and sometimes he terms Congress worst then BJP. NC's senior leadership mustn't reprimand him in open or announce breaking up of the alliance- sooner the better," says a senior Congress leader based in Srinagar.
Meanwhile, NC too seems least interested in fostering new bonds of friendship with Congress as there are apprehensions that the party could enjoy wide support from the PDP as the PDP didn't field any candidate from two parliament constituencies of Jammu region of the state.
What remains to be seen is whether both the parties in an amicable manner divorce each other or would continue to confuse people. |
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