J&K Congress not to contest RS polls; blames National Conference
What's the story
The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee has decided not to contest the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections for four seats in the Union territory that are to be held on October 24. The decision was taken after a meeting of party leaders, with state president Tariq Hamid Karra announcing that they were denied a "safe seat" by alliance partner National Conference (NC). "We wanted seat number 1 or two. But they offered us seat number 4," said Karra.
Party decision
'Seat 4 is not safe like seat 1 or 2'
Karra said, "Keeping this in mind, all the participants (at the meeting) were of the opinion that seat four is not safe like seat one or two." "We will leave it to our alliance partners to see what they think about that," he added. He said a marathon discussion took place about the working of the alliance, the Rajya Sabha polls, and the by-elections to two Assembly seats: Budgam and Nagrota.
Political tensions
Congress accuses NC of appeasing BJP
A senior Congress leader alleged that the ruling NC is trying to appease the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by not allowing a Congress candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls. However, Nasir Aslam Wani, advisor to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, said they have been in talks with Congress and claimed that if they don't contest, they'll field their own fourth candidate against the BJP.
Election dynamics
NC confident of victory with or without alliance support
Meanwhile, the NC has announced three candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls and is confident of their victory with or without alliance support. The fourth candidate from the ruling alliance will need every anti-BJP vote to win. The decision on by-elections in Budgam and Nagrota came after Abdullah vacated the Budgam seat and BJP legislator Davinder Singh Rana passed away.
Election vacancy
Four Rajya Sabha seats vacant since February 2021
Notably, all four Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir have been vacant since February 2021. The current 90-member J&K Assembly has 88 sitting members. Notably, the three MLAs of the PDP, one each from the People's Conference, Awami Ittehad Party, and AAP, will have to vote for the ruling party candidate to ensure its victory on the fourth seat.