In Jammu and Kashmir, Rahul Gandhi had already finalized the deal with the National Conference and the seat sharing was also finalized in time. Such trends started coming in when Rahul Gandhi reached Srinagar with Mallikarjun Kharge.
At the speed with which all the talks were finalised with the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, if Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav had reached a similar conclusion in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections, then the results could have been slightly better. In fact, if the deal of the INDIA alliance had been finalised in time, then the gap in seats with the NDA in the Lok Sabha elections could have been reduced.
Omar Abdullah and National Conference’s most senior leader Farooq Abdullah were also present in the meeting held with Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge on behalf of the Congress to discuss the seat sharing for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections.
One third of the seats in the state go to Congress
As reported, out of the 90 seats in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Congress is going to contest 32 seats, and there are also 5 seats on which it will play a friendly match with the National Conference. The National Conference will contest 51 assembly seats under the alliance, while two seats have been left for the CPM and the Panthers Party.
According to National Conference President Farooq Abdullah, a consensus has been reached between the two parties to maintain the principles of unity. Efforts are being made by the National Conference as well as Congress leaders to explain that the consensus is not limited to the talks of senior leaders, but a consensus has been reached only after full talks on every constituency of Jammu and Kashmir. And it is said that all this was finalized only after a long discussion between Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal and Salman Khurshid with local leaders at Farooq Abdullah’s Gupkar residence.
The electoral alliance was announced at a joint press conference attended by Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra, Congress leader KC Venugopal and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah. Speaking to the media, KC Venugopal accused the BJP, which is in power at the Centre, of destroying the soul of Jammu and Kashmir, and claimed that the aim of the INDIA Bloc is to save it at all costs.
Actually, KC Venugopal was giving clarification on the pre-poll alliance from his side. Recently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had asked 10 questions to Congress on the basis of the election manifesto of the National Conference.
Congress has also released its first list of 9 candidates for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. BJP’s first list has already come out, and its revised form has also come out. And similarly, the National Conference has also released its first list, which has the names of 18 candidates.
There is one more special thing about the Congress and National Conference alliance. There will be 5 such seats in Jammu and Kashmir where a friendly match will be seen between the two parties. These seats are Sopore, Banihal, Bhaderwah, Doda and Nagrota.
How does Congress have so much influence in Jammu and Kashmir?
Every election has its own circumstances. There are many fundamental differences between general elections and assembly elections, but the regional politics of every state is also different. Obviously, the Congress would have faced different challenges and circumstances in Jammu and Kashmir and in Uttar Pradesh.
Congress has performed better in the 2024 general elections in alliance with the Samajwadi Party than in the 2017 assembly elections, also because this time the transfer of votes has also been good.
Before the general elections, Rahul Gandhi had started his Nyay Yatra, and apart from the bitter-sweet experiences in Assam, West Bengal and Bihar, Akhilesh Yadav had also troubled him in Uttar Pradesh. However, Rahul Gandhi had earlier left no stone unturned in belittling Akhilesh Yadav’s politics in the name of ideology.
Learning from the 2017 and 2019 elections, Congress had handed over the command of UP to a strong leader in the form of Ajay Rai, but for him, Rahul Gandhi could not take the Ballia seat from Akhilesh Yadav. If we look at the results, Ajay Rai reduced the gap while fighting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi, while Samajwadi Party candidate Sanatan Pandey from Ballia defeated former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar’s son and BJP candidate Neeraj Shekhar – in such a situation, Akhilesh Yadav’s decision cannot be called bad.
If we talk about the status of Congress in both the states, then in Jammu and Kashmir also its most powerful leader Ghulam Nabi Azad left the party. While leaving, he also gave a lot of criticism to Rahul Gandhi. When Article 370 was removed from Jammu and Kashmir, Ghulam Nabi Azad used to be the architect of Congress’ Kashmir policy, due to which Congress had to lose many angry leaders.
It is not known whether Ghulam Nabi Azad will be able to show any miracle in the elections or not, but right now he seems to be far behind the National Conference and PDP – and in such a situation, the Congress snatching nearly one-third of the seats in the Union Territory from the National Conference certainly seems special.
Congress may not have been able to form an electoral alliance with Mehbooba Mufti’s party PDP, but Naeem Akhtar, a leader of the same party, said that Rahul Gandhi can raise the voice of the people of Jammu and Kashmir more effectively in Delhi.
Do National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah also think something similar about Rahul Gandhi? And is this the reason why National Conference has given Congress the seats it asked for?
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)