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| NC gets Valley, Cong Jammu, Ladakh | | Coalition partners settle scores on seat sharing | | Bashir Assad
SRINAGAR, Mar 7: While ignoring the persistent demand of the local Congress about leaving one seat from the Valley for it against the Ladakh seat, the Congress high command today reached a seat sharing agreement with its coalition partner, the National Conference by virtue of which Congress will contest two Jammu seats and the lone Ladakh seat leaving all the three Valley seats for National Conference.
Highly placed sources in the Congress told Early Times this evening that the party high command reached a seat sharing agreement with the National Conference laying all the speculations to rest.
Sources said though the local Congress leaders insisted that the Congress workers and voters in the Valley would be demoralized if the party does not concede to their demand for atleast leaving one Valley seat for the party against the lone Ladakh seat. They said the party high command, however, left all the three Valley seats for its coalition partner, the National Conference and decided to contest on two Jammu and lone Ladakh seats.
Sources said the agreement was reached in a meeting which was among others attended by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Rahul Gandhi, PCC President Professor Saif-ud-Din Soz, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, NC President Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah.
While NC has already announced its candidates for Srinagar, Anantnag and Baramulla seats, the Congress is yet to select its candidates for Jammu-Poonch, Udhampur-Doda and Leh-Kargil Lok Sabha seats from the State.
While the NC has repeated its candidates, Farooq Abdullah from Srinagar, Mehboob Beg from Anantnag and Sharif-ul-Din Shariq from Baramulla in Kashmir. Sources said the State Congress unit immediately after the meeting was over submitted a panel of its prospective candidates to the party high command, however, sources averred the party is likely to repeat its candidates Madan Lal Sharma from Jammu and Chowdhary Lal Singh from Udhampur.
The Ladakh Lok Sabha seat would also be fought by Congress with the support of the NC. It would be for the third time that Congress would be fighting the Lok Sabha elections in alliance with a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2004, the Congress fought the Parliamentary elections in alliance with the People’s Democratic Party while in 2009 elections it had alliance with the NC. |
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