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| PDP to row election boat alone | | |
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Mar 28: Except for the possibility of the Congress and the National Conference contesting the ensuing local bodies election together other mainstream political parties may have no other alternative but to go alone in the battle of the ballot. As ruling coalition partners coalition dharma has made it mandatory for the Congress and the National Conference to work out a strategy so that they context the election either in alliance or out of some electoral adjustment.
Leaders of both the organisations today confirmed that no decision had been taken so far. One senior Congress leader said that the matter will have to be discussed with the party high command. Another said that "we know it that it would be against the interests of the congress, as far as the Jammu region is concerned, if we contest the election in alliance with the National Conference because of the latter's stand on the Permanent Resident (Disqualification) Bill and on the inter district recruitment."
He said the NC stand on these two controversial issues will be known shortly and that could decide the nature of the ties "we have in the ensuing civic elections." However, one senior NC leader said that in the Kashmir valley and in Poonch, Doda, Rajouri, Kishtwar districts and some pockets of the districts of Udhampur and Samba it may be against the interest of the NC if it contested the civic election in alliance with the Congress. Indications are that the two may opt for either seat adjustment or some secret electoral understanding.
It is the PDP that has to contest the election on its own. "There is no other party with which we can forge a pre-poll alliance," said a senior PDP leader. He said that there is only one party with which the PDP can forge an alliance and that is the Congress. But since the Congress has been sharing power with the National Conference the alliance with the Congress was out of question.
And for regional considerations even the Panthers Party may not show any interest in forging an alliance with the PDP during the civic elections because for the Panthers Party the PDP is Kashmir centric. There is a meeting ground between the Panthers and the BJP but both sides are opposed to any programme of contesting the civic election together. Panthers Party leaders do not seem unwilling to have some electoral adjustment with the BJP but the leaders of the Sangh Parivar are opposed to it on the plea that the BJP had better potential of doing well in the civic elections if it went to the polls alone.
Which party is a winner and which one is a loser may not be as important as the way the Congress and the National Conference succeed in keeping the alliance in tact. A senior Congress leader said "the civic election results are not important for us. We are keen to further strengthen the spirit of coalition."
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