Neha
JAMMU, Jan 1: Will there be a pre-poll alliance between the Congress and the National Conference for 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections? The answer seems to be no when viewed in the light of what many senior Congress leaders from Jammu province and Kashmir valley said on Tuesday. They said that the Congress would "go all alone in 2014 elections, and would not ally with the NC, as cadres of the party are not happy with the incumbent dispensation".
"The party will contest the next Lok Sabha and Assembly elections scheduled in 2014 on its own without any alliance or understanding with any other party," they said without mincing words. "Congress party cadres and people in general are not happy with Omar-led Government and they welcome the decision of former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief Saif-ud-Din Soz" not to forge an alliance with the NC, they also said. It bears recalling that while addressing a public gathering at Shangus in Kashmir a couple of days ago, Azad and Soz had indirectly said that the Congress will go alone in the polls schedule in 2014. Azad had even gone to the extent of saying that the Congress became weak in the states where it forged alliances with the regional parties and, he, along with Soz, had urged the people of Kashmir to vote for the Congress and not for any regional party in the state.
These were the statements which enthused the fed-up-the-the-NC Congress leaders and cadres. These statements emboldened the Congress leaders to the extent that they issued a statement to the press that the Congress would go all alone in 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Significantly, most of those who opposed the idea of forging a pre-poll alliance with the NC and signed the statement belonged to the Ghulam Nabi Azad camp. The prominent, among others, who signed the statement included former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma, Senior Congress Leader and MLA Inderwal Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, MLA Ramban Ashok Kumar, Former Chairman Handicrafts and MLA Haji Abdul Rashid, Chief Executive Councilor Kargil Hill Development Authority Asgar Karbalai, MLC Naresh Kumar Gupta, MLC Sham Lal Bhagat, MLC Jugal Kishore Sharma, MLC Jahangir Mir, MLC Subash Gupta, former Minister Mula Ram, former Minister Haji Nissar Ali, former Minister Garu Ram, former Minister Ramesh Chander Sharma, former Minister Yogesh Sawhney, former Minister Ghulam Raza, former MLC Mohammad Amin Bhat, former MLC Ali Mohd Bhat, general secretary Pradesh Youth Congress R S Pathania, general secretary JKPCC Vinod Sharma, secretary JKPCC Thakur Jugal Bhandari, district president Kupwara Mohammad Amin Khan, district president Baramulla Mir Mushtaq, district president Ganderbal Hassan Rather, PCC Member Brij Mohan and PCC secretary Geeta Khajuria. Even a cursory look at the signatories to the statement would make one conclude that barring leaders like Mula Ram, almost all others belong to the Azad camp. Interestingly, all the Congress Ministers belonging to both the factions held aloof from those who openly criticized the style of functioning of the Omar Abdullah-led coalition Government. That none of the Ministers signed the statement does suggest that there are certain elements in the Congress who would want a pre-poll alliance with the NC, as they believe that division in the coalition votes would help its main political rivals in Jammu province. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that an influential section within the Congress is against an alliance with the NC and that the signed statement that they issued could be taken to mean a revolt against the NC. However, things would become clear in the next few days, as the Election Commission of India could announce the poll schedule anytime from now. |
