Notwithstanding repeated threats from the coalition partner National Conference, the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Congress party has sent panels of potential candidates for all five Lok Sabha seats of the Union Territory to the high command to take a final decision.
President of the J&K unit of the Congress, Vikar Rasool Wani disclosed that panels of potential candidates for all Lok Sabha seats of the UT have been forwarded to the Central Election Screening Committee to finalize the party's nominees for the coming Parliamentary elections.
Congress leadership has constituted panels of candidates for Lok Sabha elections amid repeated statements of the National Conference leadership not to leave any seat from Kashmir Valley for the coalition partners.
"Congress workers from the Valley have been mounting pressure on the leadership to contest elections in Kashmir," Wani said and added that panels were constituted to fulfill the aspirations of party workers from Kashmir Valley.
"We will contest at least one Lok Sabha seat of Kashmir Valley", he said and asserted that except the Congress no other political party of J&K has a base in all the five Parliamentary constituencies of the Union Territory.
Cong's screening panel to meet at Jammu on Feb 2
Members of the Congress Screening panel are visiting Jammu on February 2 to discuss the names of party candidates for six Lok Sabha seats of the Union Territoritories of J&K and Ladakh.
Reports said that the Chairman Central Election Screening Committee Bakhta Charan Dass along with two other members of the panel will visit Jammu on February 2.
Senior Congress leaders from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been asked to attend the meeting with panels of the potential candidates for Lok Sabha seats.
Important to mention here that on January 28, leaders from J&K and Ladakh were summoned by the Central Election Screening Committee.
During the meeting in Delhi on January 28, Congress leaders from J&K and Ladakh have already submitted panels to the high command.
Sources said that Congress leaders from Ladakh made it clear that there was no reason to leave the lone Lok Sabha seat for any constituent of the INDIA alliance.
"Leaders from Ladakh made it clear that Congress is the only party that has a presence in both Leh and Kargil districts and no other party would face BJP in the Ladakh", sources said and added that it was clear to the central leadership that leaving Ladakh seat for National Conference would prove a chalk walk for BJP.
NC already ruled out leaving any Valley seats for coalition partners
The National Conference, which is one of the constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) alliance, has already made it clear that the party will not leave any of the three seats of Kashmir Valley for the Congress or the PDP.
"Three seats won by the National Conference in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections are non-negotiable because there is no reason for the Congress or the PDP to stake claims of any of these three seats", National Conference leader and Lok Sabha member from Anantnag seat Hasnain Masoodi said.
On January 16 the National Conference staked its claim on the majority of the six Lok Sabha seats in the Union Territories (UTs) of J&K and Ladakh.
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 one seat of Jammu province.
