J&K Assembly Polls 2024: Doors open for like-minded parties, individuals: Congress president

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hamid Karra said the NC-Congress alliance will get a “comfortable majority” in the assembly elections, and added that the doors are open for like-minded parties and individuals to keep the BJP out of power.

Talking to reporters after a meeting with party candidates here that lasted over three and a half hours, Karra said the final results for the Congress-National Conference coalition would be much better than the numbers projected in the exit polls.

The exit polls, which came out on Saturday, have put the NC-Congress alliance in the pole position with the regional party getting the lion's share of the seats. The BJP is expected to slightly improve on its tally of 25 seats which it had won in the 2014 assembly polls while the PDP, which had won 28 seats in the polls held 10 years ago, is predicted to win less than 10 seats this time.

“The Congress-NC coalition will get a comfortable majority to form the government and the final results would be much better than the numbers projected in the exit polls,” the Pradesh Congress Committee chief said.

“The doors will be open for like-minded parties and individuals to keep the BJP out of power,” he said.

On the possible nomination of five MLAs by the Lieutenant Governor who could also play a role in government formation, Karra said that would amount to “rigging the poll results”, contrary to the basic concept of democracy and defeating the mandate of the people.

“The Congress shall oppose it tooth and nail and shall not allow BJP to succeed in its designs, although it shall be no way near the claim for formation of government,” he said.

On urban local bodies and panchayat elections, the J&K Congress president said it should be among the the new government's governments, and added that the final decision on it should be left to the elected government.

A Congress spokesperson said the meeting by the party's candidates was convened to discuss the campaigning process, the role of administration and prospects of the party and the coalition as well as the strategy ahead.

The candidates briefed Karra that the police and administration favoured the BJP and the alleged the administration failed at most places in taking action against the electoral malpractices by ruling party candidates, the spokesperson said.

The inaction and non-cooperation by the police and administration was viewed with great concern, he said.