Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 17: The chairman of Peoples Conference, Sajjad Ghani Lone had to eat a humble pie Thursday when the Chief electoral officer did not invite his party for a discussion on elections. The CEO, it is reliably learnt, invited all political parties to attend the meeting on Jan 18 except Lone's Peoples Conference.
The Election Commission of India recently called an important meeting of Jammu and Kashmir's all political groups on Jan 18 to discuss the modalities of the forthcoming parliament elections in the state.
"In order to review the general preparedness for the forthcoming general elections 2019, Chief Electoral Officer, J&K has desired to convene a meeting of all political parties on 18th January, 2019 at 11 a.m in his office chamber, Vikas Bhawan Railhead complex, Jammu. Accordingly I am directed to request you to attend the said meeting on the scheduled date and time," the official letter reads.
However, what proved as a major embarrassment for Sajad Lone was that among the 10 political parties of the state that were invited to attend the meeting, Peoples Conference was nowhere in the list.
Interestingly, it was Sajad Lone's party that on November 21 last year staked claim for the formation of the government in Jammu and Kashmir, claiming that it had adequate numbers to form the government.
Meanwhile, it has now become amply clear that when all the political parties of the state on Jan 18 would congregate and discuss the conduction of elections in the state at the office of Chief Electoral Officer, Sajad Lone or any representative of his party would not be there.
The PC chairman who is widely being speculated as BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate said it is among the very probabilities that both NC and PDP could race against each other and sit in BJP's lap to stay somehow in power. Without divulging further details, Sajad said that while he is yet to decide whether to align with the BJP or not ahead of the assembly elections, it is highly possible that both NC and PDP could extend the olive branch to BJP in a bid to swim with the tide.
On November 22 that is a day after Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolved the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, Peoples Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone had reiterated that his party had adequate numbers to form the government in the state.
Lone, who served as cabinet minister in previous BJP-PDP coalition in the state, claimed that he wrote letter to the Governor, staking claim for the formation of the government only after he was sure that he had enough numbers in the kitty. "I don't know about PDP and NC but we had numbers to form the government. Now when we have accepted Governor's decision to dissolve the assembly, the PDP which is making cry of a thief should move the court of law," Sajad had said. |