Amid seat-sharing discussions among the constituents of the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in J&K, the National Conference leaders started flexing their muscles by staking their claims on the majority of the six Lok Sabha seats in the Union Territories (UTs) of J&K and Ladakh.
While the National Conference president and former Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah is avoiding speaking on this issue, his party leaders are seizing every opportunity to muzzle the demand of coalition partners.
General secretary of the National Conference and former minister Ali Mohammad Sagar asserted that there was no reason for any constituents of the INDIA alliance in J&K to stake a claim on any of the three Parliamentary seats of Kashmir Valley.
"In the 2019 general elections the National Conference won all the three seats of Kashmir Valley so the question of leaving these seats for constituents of INDIA alliance does not rise", Sagar said and asserted that the National Conference has a genuine claim on the seat of Jammu province.
When asked about accommodating coalition partners in the coming Lok Sabha elections, Sagar said that the National Conference leadership would take a final decision but party workers were of the view that the National Conference should contest elections on the majority of the Parliamentary seats in J&K and Ladakh.
When his attention was drawn towards statements of Congress leaders demanding three Parliamentary seats of J&K, Sagar said that all political parties have a right to stake claim but decisions should be taken while taking the ground reality into confidence.
One thing is clear the National Conference is a strong force in both Jammu and Kashmir regions as well as in the Union Territory of Ladakh, he said.
Congress stakes claim on three seats of J&K
Sharing five seats among three constituents of INDIA in J&K, namely Congress, National Conference, and PDP, is a difficult task because these parties are staking claims for maximum seats.
Highly placed sources said that apart from two Lok Sabha seats of Jammu province, Congress also stakes a claim on the newly carved Anantnag-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency to get Lion's share.
During a meeting, Congress leaders argued that the party has a strong presence in South Kashmir as well as in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri of Jammu province so the party would be in a position to win this seat easily.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections Congress had secured maximum votes from Poonch and Rajouri districts.
As reported earlier, after delimitation, the boundaries of all five Lok Sabha seats have changed. The entire Poonch district and areas of Rajouri district have become part of South Kashmir with the creation of the Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat. This has assured parity in the Parliamentary seats with Jammu and Kashmir divisions having two and a half seats each.
The entire Poonch district and Rajouri, Nowshera, and Thanna Mandi Assembly constituencies of Rajouri district are part of the Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary seat. Anantnag, Kulgam, and Shopian districts will be part of this seat from South Kashmir.
The Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha Constituency comprises Assembly segments including Zainapura, Damhal Hanjipora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Larnoo, Anantnag West, Anantnag, Pahalgam, Nowshera, Rajouri, Darhal, Thanna Mandi, Surankote, Poonch and Mendhar.
