Srinagar: With Kashmir’s political pot boiling ahead of forthcoming polls for assembly-slated to be held by the end of this year, serious deliberations have once again started within Congress to enter into pre-poll pact with its ally National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources have revealed to KNS that the chief minister Omar Abdullah has been called to New Delhi and a meeting between him and Sonia Gandhi is expected to be held by late Sunday evening.
Ms Gandhi has also stressed her party cadres in Jammu and Kashmir to give a detailed ground report over the political scenario of the state after the recently held Lok Sabha polls and the footing of the Congress party ahead of the forthcoming assembly elections. The party’s senior leadership is also holding serious deliberations to counter the BJP wave in the Jammu region wherein the party candidates lost both seats of Lok Sabha recently.
Party insiders have told KNS that the senior state Congress leadership has been called to New Delhi earlier to know from them the results if the party enters into alliance with the national conference ahead of assembly polls. With several senior Congress leaders have voiced that the party must contest the polls separately, others have stressed for the need of the pre-poll pact to counter the BJP.
Sources privy to this development told KNS that most of the senior Congress leaders have suggested to go for a pre-poll alliance with NC so that maximum numbers are achieved in the upcoming assembly elections. The leadership of both the parties have almost mad their minds to have a second time coalition if the numbers favour them.
The Congress party is reportedly much perturbed over the increasing strength of the BJP in Jammu region- that earlier used to be the bastion of the Congress. Congress is now looking for the alternatives to regain control over the its lost ground and it for this objective that voices are being raised that the party must enter into a pre-poll pact with the National Conference.
Interestingly, chief minister Omar Abdullah had kept the option of any pre-poll alliance with the Congress open- maintaining that the party president and his father Dr Farooq would take the final call over the issue once he returns to Jammu and Kashmir. Reports have also maintained that Omar in a deliberate move kept the decision of the pre-poll alliance in limbo as he was in full knowledge about the dangerous outcome for both Congress and NC if the duo decides to contest the polls separately.
On the other hand, opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has clearly denied to have given any nod to Congress of entering into any pre-poll alliance with it. The party has decided to contest the polls on its own- keeping in view the recent LS results wherein it swept all the three seats in valley.