INDIA fails to reach seat-sharing pact in J&K

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, February 5

While no consensus has been formed on seat sharing arrangement among INDIA bloc parties even as the Lok Sabha elections are few months away, major parties of Jammu and Kashmir are eyeing all the five seats in the UT leaving the alliance in tatters.

Congress recently held a high level screening committee meeting in which all five seats of J&K were discussed. Senior leaders of the National Conference (NC) which is also a part of the INDIA alliance have already declared that the party will contest on all three seats of Kashmir region on which it has sitting Member Parliaments.

There are three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir and two in Jammu division.

Allies lock horns

Anantnag MP Hasnain Masoodi had recently made it clear that the NC will not share seats on which it won in 2019. However, it has been learnt that PDP is expecting to contest from Anantnag under INDIA bloc

“As the NC has sitting MPs from three constituencies including Baramulla, Srinagar and Anantnag, it is difficult for the party to give way to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on any of these seats which is set to create problem for the alliance as the PDP is a part of it,” said a senior leader of the NC.

Reports suggest that both Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah are likely to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Srinagar and Baramulla. Farooq is sitting MP from Srinagar. Interestingly both NC and PDP are leaving no stone unturned to woo the voters in Anantnag constituency which now constitute Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu division.

PDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has been trying to reclaim her vote bank in Kashmir, which significantly eroded after party’s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after 2014 Assembly polls. Mufti had been making fiery speeches against BJP during her public addresses.

While the PDP has not directly announced that it intends to contest on all three seats of Kashmir division, MP of NC from Anantnag Hasnain Masoodi had recently made it clear that the party will not share seats on which it won in 2019. However, it has been learnt that PDP is expecting to contest from Anantnag under INDIA alliance.

Members of screening committee of Congress for J&K headed by Bhakta Charan Dass, former union minister along with Neeraj Dangi Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, recently interacted with senior leaders including AICC in-charge for J&K Bharat Sinh Solanki, J&K party chief Vikar Rasool Wani, Working President Raman Bhalla among others to discuss the candidates.

Even as no consensus has been formed among INDIA block parties, newly formed regional parties which are not part of the alliance and have been termed as B team of BJP are planning to contest on all five seats of the UT. Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) led by Ghulam Nabi Azad has announced that it will contest on all seats.

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#INDIA bloc #Jammu #Kashmir #Lok Sabha