Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 13: The ongoing negotiations between the National Conference (NC) and the Congress over seat-sharing for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir have reportedly collapsed, after the Congress demanded that five NC legislators vote for its candidate on the “risky” seat offered under the third election notification.
According to sources, the Congress leadership made it clear during the latest round of talks that it does not trust the five independent MLAs supporting the Omar Abdullah-led coalition government and therefore will not contest the Rajya Sabha seat unless the NC agrees to transfer votes from its own members.
“We made it clear to the NC command that we cannot afford to depend on independents to vote for our candidate. We requested that they spare five of their MLAs for us and, in return, ask the independents to vote for the NC candidate contesting under the third notification, which involves a combined election,” a senior Congress leader said.
However, the proposal was rejected by the NC leadership, leading to an impasse in the alliance’s internal negotiations.
Sources familiar with the discussions said the talks between the two coalition partners continued late into Sunday night but ended without any breakthrough. The Congress had earlier publicly declared its decision not to contest the “risky” Rajya Sa ha seat after a five-hour core committee meeting.
The party’s main concern, sources said, stemmed from electoral rules governing independent MLAs, who are not required to disclose their marked ballots to polling agents. This clause, Congress leaders argued, creates a possibility of cross-voting and undermines their candidate’s chances.
“Independents are not bound to show their marked ballots to anyone. If they do, their votes can be declared invalid. NC MLAs, on the other hand, being part of a political party, must show their marked ballots to authorized agents,” the leader added.
Of the 53 MLAs supporting the ruling alliance, five are independents—Satish Sharma (Chhamb), Pyare Lal (Inderwal), Dr. Rameshwar Singh (Bani), Muzaffar Khan (Rajouri), and Choudhary Akram (Surankote).
Congress functionaries argue that since the party is not in power and holds a junior position in the coalition, it cannot exercise effective control or influence over independent legislators.
“How can we rely on independents when we are not in power and are merely offering outside support?” a Congress leader asked, reflecting the growing distrust between the alliance partners.
The National Conference leadership, however, reportedly countered that the Congress should seek support from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has three MLAs in the House, to bolster its numbers for the fourth seat. |
