Jammu And Kashmir Elections 2024: Congress And National Conference Reach Agreement On Seat Sharing; Details Inside | Report

The alliance partners also allotted one seat each to the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), they announced at a joint press conference at NC president Farooq Abdullah's residence here after day-long negotiations.

Jammu: Following hectic negotiations over the week, Congress and the National Conference reached an agreement for the upcoming Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections. As per the agreement, out of 90 Assembly seats, Congress to contest 33, National Conference on 52 and on 5 seats, it will be a friendly fight.

The alliance partners also allotted one seat each to the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), they announced at a joint press conference at NC president Farooq Abdullah’s residence here after day-long negotiations.

According to their seat-sharing formula, the NC will contest 51 seats in J&K and the Congress 32, the leaders of the two parties said.

They also announced that a “friendly contest” would be held on five seats of the Union territory. However, J&K Congress president Tariq Hamid Qarra said the contest would take place in a cordial and disciplined manner.

The leaders said the list of seats each party will be contesting, as well as the names of the candidates, will be issued in due course.

Cong Leader, Retired SSP, Several others Join BJP In Jammu

A Congress leader and a former police officer on Saturday joined the BJP along with dozens of their supporters here, vowing to work for the party’s success in the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina welcomed the new entrants at two separate functions in the party headquarters. He described the pre-poll alliance of the Congress and National Conference (NC) as an outcome of the “growing popularity” of the BJP.

At the first function, former SSP Mohan Lal joined the BJP, a day after his application for voluntary retirement from service was accepted.

“Today, I am joining the world’s largest political party which is nationalistic by its ideology and working for nation-building. I am influenced by the central and J&K party leadership and workers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah,” Lal, who is likely to be given a party ticket from the Akhnoor Assembly constituency, said.

The former SSP said he will work to ensure the party achieves its target of 50-plus seats in the elections.

Welcoming Lal in the party fold, Raina said the continuous joining of prominent personalities like former minister Choudhary Zulfikar Ali and former MLC Murtaza Khan in the BJP has unnerved the Congress and the NC, forcing the two parties to join hands in the run-up to the Assembly polls.

(With inputs from agencies)