The possibility of a united front by the INDIA bloc against the BJP seems difficult in Jammu and Kashmir, as the National Conference, the main regional party of the alliance, insists that seat-sharing will be restricted to only those seats won by the BJP in the last Lok Sabha polls.
The NC won three of the six Lok Sabha seats—Srinagar, Anantnag, and Baramulla—in the previous Lok Sabha polls.
The remaining two in Jammu and one in Ladakh were bagged by the BJP. After Jammu and Kashmir was split into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh following the abrogation of Article 370, there are five Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir and one in Ladakh.
The Congress wants the regional parties, the NC and the PDP, to put up a joint front against the BJP on all five seats.
“There have been no talks on seat-sharing within the INDIA bloc so far,” said the NC vice president and former chief minister, Omar Abdullah, on Tuesday. “Congress is interested in dialogue.”
“In the coming days, there will be a discussion, especially about the three seats—Jammu, Udhampur, and Ladakh—which are with the BJP.”
He said the NC has also contested elections from Jammu, Udhampur, and Ladakh constituencies in the past. He said the NC has won the Jammu Lok Sabha seat once and Ladakh more than once.
“We will sit and discuss which formula we should adopt so that we can regain the seats currently held by the BJP,” he said. The seats won by the NC in 2019 are INDIA bloc seats. “What do I have to discuss with the INDIA bloc about these seats?’’ he asked, adding, ‘’The fight is not within the INDIA bloc.”
“The fight is to reclaim those seats held by the BJP. Since three seats are with the INDIA bloc, I do not need to discuss those with them.”
Mehbooba Mufti-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is also keen on joining forces against the BJP, but the NC's refusal to agree to seat-sharing in Kashmir will make the party rethink its strategy.
The recent thaw in relations between the PDP and Muzaffar Hussain Baig, former PDP leader and MP, who commands support among the tribal population, suggests that the latter might be seeking a mandate from the PDP for the Lok Sabha polls in Baramulla or Anantnag-Pir Panjal, comprising districts of Rajouri and Poonch, which have sizeable Gujjar and Pahari-speaking populations.
Mehbooba, like Omar Abdullah, has also vowed not to contest the assembly polls until the restoration of Article 370 and statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Observers believe that Mehbooba could be a good choice for the PDP for the Anantnag-Pir Panjal constituency due to the support the party commands in south Kashmir and among sections of tribals in Pir Panjal.
Parliament recently passed a bill conferring Scheduled Tribe status to Paharis, intending to wrest the Anantnag-Pir Panjal seat from regional parties. While most Pahari-speaking Hindus are likely to vote for the BJP, it remains to be seen how many Pahari-speaking Muslims will vote for the saffron party.
On February 2, senior Congress leader and chairman AICC screening committee for Lok Sabha elections in J&K Bhakta Charan Das (ex-MP), arrived in Jammu along with other two screening committee members—Bharat Singh Solanki (AICC general secretary and incharge J&K affairs of the party) and senior AICC leader Neeraj Dangi (Rajya Sabha MP), for shortlisting and recommending party candidates for Lok Sabha elections.
Das held a meeting of the 26-member J&K Pradesh Election Committee. “We will submit our report to the five-member alliance/screening committee which was constituted for the purpose,” he said.
Das also said the dialogue is ongoing with the alliance partners to address any confusion. “We are not a decision-making committee. That is not our domain. We are for technical work while the political negotiation and finalisation of candidates (with alliance partners) will be done by a separate committee,” he said.
The INDIA bloc is significant for J&K UT and the country, he said, and all the alliance partners must move together. Sources said JKPCC leaders G.A. Mir, Raman Bhalla, Tara Chand, Vikar Rasool Wani, Tariq Hamid Karra, Balbir Singh and Peerzada Mohd Sayeed are among the frontrunners for the five Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir.
