A day after National Conference president and former Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah confirmed a pre-poll alliance with Congress, vice president Omar Abdullah admitted that discussions are going on in some Assembly seats, although both parties have agreed to jointly contest elections.
"During our meetings, discussions were held on all the 90 assembly constituencies. Out of these 90 assembly constituencies, a consensus has been evolved on the majority of the seats but still, there is stalemate on some segments", Omar admitted.
"On some assembly constituencies, we are adamant and on some seats, local Congress leadership is staking claim. Today we will sit together again and try to evolve consensus on remaining seats. We are hopeful that we will jointly contest the assembly elections", Omar said.
He announced on Friday that the seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress has been finalized for a majority of assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir. Discussions are ongoing to reach a consensus over the remaining constituencies.
Sources said that local Congress leadership is not ready to leave more than six seats for the National Conference in Jammu province while the latter has been demanding over a dozen Assembly segments.
Candidates announcement to be made soon
When asked about the announcement of candidates for the first phase, Abdullah stated that there is no hurry, citing that other parties have not yet announced their candidates. "Our list will have to be out in any case by August 27," he said, referring to the deadline for candidate nominations.
Farooq announced formation of alliance with Congress
On Thursday, former Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah announced the formation of an alliance with the Congress. Abdullah announced that an alliance with the Congress was finalized for all 90 Assembly seats in J&K.
The announcement follows a meeting between Abdullahs, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at the National Conference chief's residence on Thursday.
"We had a good meeting in a cordial atmosphere. The alliance is on track and God willing, it will function smoothly. We will sign the agreement by evening, covering all 90 seats," Farooq told media persons after the meeting.
The NC president further said: "CPI(M)'s Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami is also with us. I hope our people are with us too and that we win with a huge majority to improve the lives of the people."
