Jammu: The National Conference (NC) has decided to participate in the Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir next month but wants "roadblocks" placed in its way to be removed so that it can campaign freely.
In a letter to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Shailendra Kumar, NC central secretary Rattan Lal Gupta said that the party is a strong votary of democratic process and wishes to participate in the eight-phase elections starting March 5 in over 11,000 seats.
A copy of the letter has been marked to the Chief Election Commissioner.
The letter states that it is practically impossible for the party to participate in the election when its top leaders, including its president Farooq Abdullah, vice president Omar Abdullah, general secretary Ali Mohammed Sagar, are in detention under the stringent Public Safety Act.
Therefore, the process of selecting candidates and campaigning under the given circumstances is impossible, the letter said.
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The elections to local bodies, the first democratic exercise after Jammu and Kashmir became a union territory last year, will be contested on party lines unlike the last polls in 2018 when it was contested on non-party lines.