Gap widens between NC, Congress in J&K over Rajya Sabha elections

The rift between the National Conference (NC) and the Congress over the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections has widened and the alliance appears on the verge of collapse.

The rift occurred after the alliance failed to reach consensus on seat sharing for elections to the upper house of Parliament. Jammu and Kashmir will send four MPs to the Rajya Sabha, and the Congress has been offered seat number 4, which the party called “futile”.

The Congress has six seats in the 88-member Assembly, and it has refused to support the NC’s proposal to jointly contest the four Rajya Sabha seats scheduled for the October 24 election. The NC, which has 41 MLAs and the support of five Independents and a CPI(M) legislator, had offered the Congress one seat, its fourth, but the Congress rejected the proposal, calling it “unviable”.

“We have unanimously decided not to field our candidate in seat number four as the safe seats we had sought – seats number 1 and 2 – have not been offered,” said Pradesh Congress Committee chief Tariq Hameed Karra. He added that contesting the fourth seat would be “futile” given the number of members in the alliance.

The NC has nominated candidates for all four seats. They are Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan, Shammi Oberoi, Sajad Kitchloo and Imran Nabi Dar.

North Carolina Chief Minister and Vice President Omar Abdullah downplayed the divide. He said, “They decided not to field a candidate. We felt the best chance of winning this seat was with the Congress, and they thought otherwise. So be it.”

Even if Congress leaves the alliance, the NC will enjoy a majority in the House. The NC has 41 MLAs, supported by four independents and a CPI(M) member, over half the number of 45.