Srinagar: With two prominent regional parties, National Conference and PDP - the two I.N.D.I.A. bloc partners in Jammu and Kashmir - taking on each other on all three Lok Sabha seats in the valley, Congress has been left perplexed.
As the Lok Sabha elections approach, the Congress finds itself in a dilemma as it has yet to decide its strategy. For the Congress, on one hand, aligning with either the NC or the People's Democratic Party (PDP) would mean risking alienating the supporters of the other party, further fragmenting the already divided electorate.
Caught between the devil and the deep sea situation, the Congress leadership finds itself grappling with tough decisions.
Vice-president of J&K unit of the Congress, G N Monga said they were still in alliance with both the parties. “There is some misunderstanding between the two parties and I’m sure they will settle it and the alliance will contest the polls together,” he told DH.
Asked whom will the Congress support if the NC and the PDP contests against each other, he evaded the direct answer. “We are open to both the parties as they are supporting us in the Jammu and Udhampur seats.”
On Thursday, NC leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah claimed the Congress has assured them of unconditional support for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“The Congress has conveyed its full support to NC's three candidates in Kashmir and the NC will strive for the victory of Congress candidates on two seats of Jammu division,” he said.
While the picture will be clear within a few days after the announcement from Congress high command, a senior party leader said that in case the NC and the PDP contests against each other, the grand old party had no choice but to make a difficult decision.
“The party’s political affairs committee had marked out a seat-sharing formula where it was decided two seats to be given to the NC, two to Congress and one to PDP. We will stick to it and support the NC on two seats and the PDP on one,” he revealed.
As the deadline for filing nominations looms closer, the Congress is running out of time. In a last-ditch effort to break the deadlock, high-level negotiations were initiated with both, the NC and the PDP, sources said. However, the talks are expected to prove futile as neither party is willing to back down from their decision.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels | Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks