Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 | Congress and National Conference reach consensus on 85 seats, 'friendly contest' on five seats

Srinagar: After days of intense negotiations and behind-the-scenes maneuvering, the National Conference (NC) and Congress on Monday reached a consensus on seat-sharing for the upcoming assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

The two parties have settled on a seat-sharing arrangement for 83 out of the 90 total seats, with Congress contesting 32 and NC fielding candidates in 51 constituencies.

Additionally, one seat each has been allocated to the CPM and Panthers Party, while the remaining five seats will witness a “friendly contest” between the NC and Congress.

J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra said there will be a friendly contest on five seats “but in a disciplined manner.”

The negotiations were anything but smooth, with both parties grappling with competing interests and regional sensitivities, particularly in areas where both have a strong foothold.

The announcement comes hours after the Congress high command rushed two senior leaders to Jammu and Kashmir to iron out seat sharing talks with NC.

Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Salman Khurshid met NC president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah in Srinagar after Omar said that both the parties were “stuck on some seats.”

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal alleged that the BJP was trying to destroy the soul of Jammu and Kashmir.

“I.N.D.I.A. bloc's main objective is to save the soul of Jammu and Kashmir so that is why Congress and National Conference are coming together to make a government which is totally friendly with the people of J&K,” he told reporters after the meeting.

The last date of filing nomination for the first phase of polling is Tuesday. Candidates of the two parties have filed nominations on several seats, but some seats going to polls on September 18 in the first phase are still awaiting nominations from the two parties.

Jammu and Kashmir is going to polls for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. Assembly polls will be held in three phases - September 18, September 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will be held on October 4.