J&K parties start gearing up for Assembly poll
Adil Akhzer
Srinagar, July 4
With the Assembly elections likely to held in Jammu and Kashmir in coming months, political parties have started making preparations for the process. The Assembly elections will be the first to be held since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
In Srinagar, the National Conference (NC) on Wednesday began a two-day working committee meeting with a special focus on the Assembly poll.
A party statement said the working committee meeting would discuss “core competencies and future courses of action” during the two-day meet being chaired by party president Farooq Abdullah.
Earlier this week, the National Conference said it had set up a committee, led by senior party member and former Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather, to draft the party’s manifesto.
The committee has been tasked with presenting the draft within 45 days, a party statement said.
Similarly, J&K Congress leaders have started preparations for the poll process and taking feedback from party workers. “We are holding meetings to boost the cadres…the preparation has started for the poll,” senior J&K Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Monga told The Tribune.
The Congress, which had backed the National Conference candidates in the Lok Sabha poll in the Valley, is “open to a poll alliance in the UT”. The party said the final call would be taken later.
PDP sources said the party was too getting ready for the Assembly elections. It has planned several meetings in the coming days to discuss preparations. A senior PDP leader said during the party’s political affairs committee met last week, the upcoming elections were discussed and soon the constituency in-charges for the Assembly segments would be announced.
In last Assembly elections in 2014, the PDP had bagged the highest 28 seats, followed by the BJP (25). Then, the PDP had joined hands with the BJP to form the government with former Chief Minister and PDP founder Mufti Mohammed Sayeed equating the coalition as “bringing together the North Pole with South Pole”.
This time around, however, both the PDP and NC are part of the Congress-led INDIA bloc. In the recently held Lok Sabha elections, while the NC and the Congress contested jointly, the PDP contested on three seats in Kashmir separately.
On the other hand, the BJP is holding a two-day meeting in Jammu this week, where party president JP Nadda and other top leaders are participating. The BJP, recently, won two Lok Sabha seats in the Jammu region. It is likely to contest all seats in the Assembly poll in the UT.
The Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party, headed by Altaf Bukhari, last week dissolved its frontal organisations, including youth and women’s wings. Party sources said the move was taken ahead of the elections and soon new wings would be announced.
NC starts work on manifesto
The National Conference has set up a committee, led by senior party member and former Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather, to draft the party’s manifesto. The committee will present the draft within 45 days.
Last elections held in 2014
In last Assembly elections in 2014, the PDP had bagged the highest 28 seats, followed by the BJP (25). Then, the PDP had joined hands with the BJP to form the government with former Chief Minister and PDP founder Mufti Mohammed Sayeed equating the coalition as “bringing together the North Pole with South Pole”.
