Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
Srinagar: With National Conference (NC) and PDP - the constituents of I.N.D.I.A. bloc - pitched against each other ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is intervening to end the deadlock between the two archrivals in Jammu and Kashmir politics.
The tensions started brewing between the NC and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) after the former announced that it will contest all three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir, leaving no space for the latter.
The NC’s decision also puts a question mark over the future of People’s Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), an alliance of political parties in the Valley that was formed in 2020 to fight for the restoration of erstwhile state’s special status.
Sources said with the NC remaining firm on retaining all seats it won in the previous LS polls, Rahul Gandhi is likely to intervene by holding separate meetings with NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti to end the impasse and finalize the candidates for the LS polls.
“Rahul may speak to two J&K leaders before March 12 and make the NC ready for leaving south Kashmir’s Anantnag LS seat for the PDP,” they revealed.
Sources said the Congress wants the NC to contest Srinagar and Baramulla and had even offered the Ladakh LS seat to the NC for leaving Anantnag constituency for the PDP. But the Farooq Abdulla-led party is adamant about contesting all three Valley seats, citing its 2019 winning record.
A senior J&K Congress leader told DH that in case the NC doesn’t agree to Rahul Gandhi’s suggestions, the party would support NC candidates in Baramulla and Srinagar and most likely back Mehbooba if she decides to contest from Anantnag.
The PDP has dropped enough hints in the recent months in favour of a pre-poll alliance with the NC for both the Parliament and even the Assembly polls saying the people of the Union Territory should unite to achieve the “larger goal.”
CPM leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, who is also spokesperson of the PAGD, said there was urgent need for reconciliation and both the parties should prioritise the welfare of the people J&K over internal disputes.
“It is important for the NC and the PDP to set aside their differences and work together for the greater good of the people of J&K,” he said and urged both the parties to have direct dialogue instead of public posturing over the seat sharing issue.