news details |
|
|
| NC, Congress reach seat sharing agreement for LS polls | | Cong to contest South Kashmir seat | | Bashir Assad
JAMMU, Feb 4: The National Conference (NC) and the Congress have reached an agreement to share seats for Lok Sabha elections due in April in the country. Early Times learnt from reliable sources that the ruling National Conference and Congress in the state have reached an agreement over seat sharing for the Lok Sabha elections. The agreement, according to the sources, was reached between the high command of both the parties in a meeting in New-Delhi recently. Jammu and Kashmir has six Lok Sabha seats and these will go to polls in April/May this year along with the nation. According to the sources, the NC will contest on two of the three Lok Sabha seats of the Kashmir valley and the lone seat of Leh-Kargil while as Congress will contest on two Jammu seats and the South Kashmir seat of the Valley. According to Congress party sources, it has got the go-ahead from its ally NC to contests polls in Anantnag-Pulwama, Jammu-Poonch and Udhampur-Doda constituencies while they (NC) will contest on Srinagar-Budgam, Baramulla-Kupwara and Leh-Kargil seats.
Congress party sources further revealed that the party is likely to field Minister for Tourism and MLA Dooru, G A Mir from Anantnag-Pulwama against the PDP President, Mehbooba Mufti while as the sitting MP, Madan Lal Sharma will the party candidate for Jammu-Poonch constituency. They, however, said the party is yet to decide candidature for Doda-Udhampur constituency.
However, senior National Conference leader and Minister for CAPD, Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan contested the reports of leaving South Kashmir for Congress saying that the party will contest on all the three seats of the Valley.
"No, these are baseless reports, we will contest on all the three seats of Kashmir valley and Dr. Mehboob Beg is our candidate for South Kashmir" Choudhary told Early Times adding that withdrawal of candidature Beg from Anantnag was out of question. When contacted, senior Vice President of Congress party and MLC, Ghulam Nabi Monga expressed ignorance about any such agreement. "I don't know, it is a news for me too" Monga said adding that the coalition has just come out of the crisis over the issue of administrative units.
Minister for Tourism, G A Mir was not available for comments but sources within Congress insisted that the National Conference has agreed in principle to leave Anantnag-Pulwama constituency for Congress while it (NC) will contest on Leh-Kargil seat in place of Anantnag Pulwama. They said Congress high command had pressed hard for Baramulla-Kupwara seat but NC insisted on leaving South Kashmir for its alliance partner.
Meanwhile sources said that owing to the displeasure of many leaders over the candidature of Sharif-ud-Din Shariq from North Kashmir NC high command is seriously thinking to field Dr. Mustafa Kamaal from that constituency. Sources said some party leaders are not happy with the candidature of Shariq from North Kashmir and are pressing for change of candidature. However, Dr. Kamaal while talking to Early Times expressed his ignorance about any such development but insisted that in a democratically structured party such developments are always their ahead of the elections.
"I don't know, I had just arrived Jammu from Ajmer Sharif and I am not aware of any such development" Kamaal said. He, however, said the final call on the issue has to be taken by the president of the party in consultation to the Parliamentary Board of the party. On seat sharing agreement with Congress, Kamaal said that NC President, Dr. Farooq Abdullah announced the candidature for the three seats of Kashmir valley on December 5 in a public meeting organized to commemorate the Party founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and it was out of question to leave any of the seats of Valley to the Congress but quickly added that final decision lies with the president of the party. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
