Srinagar: National Conference held a two-day marathon meeting of its working committee to chart out a course for the long-due Assembly polls in Jammu & Kashmir, likely to be conducted in September.
The meeting chaired by the NC president Farooq Abdullah at the party headquarters at Nawa-e-Subha here also discussed a pre-poll alliance with Congress party. Besides Farooq, NC vice president Omar Abdullah, General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar, additional General Secretaries Sheikh Mustafa Kamaal, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, Provincial Presidents Nasir Aslam Wani, Rattan Lal Gupta and other members of the working committee were present.
"We are hopeful that the Election Commission of India will abide by the Supreme Court deadline (September 30) to conduct assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. In this backdrop, the party president Dr Farooq Abdullah chaired the Working Committee meeting which discussed the preparations for the assembly elections and other issues which the people of Jammu and are confronted with," NC vice president Omar Abdullah said to the media after the conclusion of the meeting.
Omar said that the pre-poll alliance with Congress was discussed in the meeting and the final decision about it will be taken by Farooq Abdullah. The NC and Congress contested together five seats of parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir. NC won two seats of Kashmir and lost one while Congress lost both the seats of Jammu and Udhampur against the BJP.
The NC got major vote share in the Kashmir valley and led in 35 assembly segments, while the vote share of Congress also spiked up in Jammu and Udhampur than the last two general elections.
Sources in the NC said that the discussions were also held on the probable candidates for the assembly elections. Sources said that the leaders insisted party vice president Omar Abdullah to contest the assembly elections. Omar in the recent past has said in many interviews that he will not contest assembly elections in UT. In an interview with ETV Bharat in 2022, Omar had said that he will not contest assembly elections in the UT but will campaign for the party candidates.
In the statement issued after the meeting, the NC hinted Omar may contest the assembly elections. "The working group members also pledged to conquer any challenges, with Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah leading the way," it said.
The three -time former chief minister Farooq Abdullah was a member of parliament from Srinagar from 2019; however, he did not contest the 2024 parliamentary elections due to his aging health. Omar faced a drubbing in the parliamentary elections from Baramulla from jailed MP-elect Engineer Rashid. Following the defeat, Omar said he was "gutted" by the loss.
In view of the assembly elections, other political parties in Jammu and Kashmir including Congress, PDP, PC, Apni Party and BJP held a meeting for contesting the elections. These parties are eagerly waiting to contest the assembly elections, as the last elections were held in 2014.
PDP and BJP formed a coalition government, but the BJP withdrew its support to Mehbooba Mufti in June 2018. Since then Jammu and Kashmir is reeling under president's rule with LG and his lone advisor running the administration in the UT following the abrogation of Article 370 and downgrading of state into two union territories.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Yoga Day visit to Srinagar has promised that assembly elections will be held in Jammu and Kashmir and statehood will be restored also. The PM did not give any specific timeline, even as the Supreme Court deadline of September 30 is nearing.
