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Kharge, Rahul to visit Jammu, Srinagar; likely to meet Abdullahs
“The two leaders will reach Jammu on Wednesday around 1 pm. Thereafter, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will have an interaction with around 400 to 500 office-bearers including district and block presidents at Marble Market in Trikuta Nagar,” said AICC general secretary and former president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, Ghulam Ahmed Mir.
As the notification for the first phase of assembly elections in J&K was issued on Tuesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge will be on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir beginning Wednesday. “The two leaders will reach Jammu on Wednesday around 1 pm. Thereafter, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will have an interaction with around 400 to 500 office-bearers including district and block presidents at Marble Market in Trikuta Nagar,” said AICC general secretary and former president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, Ghulam Ahmed Mir.
“It would be a closed-door meeting. However, media will be allowed for brief photo ops. If the Congress leaders intended, they may also give a byte,” he added.
Mir informed that around 5.30 pm, both the leaders will leave for Srinagar where they would stay overnight.
“On Thursday, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge will have interaction with party leaders, district and block presidents from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm before returning to Delhi around 1 pm,” he said.
“Both the leaders may also have a press conference or brief media interaction at Srinagar before returning to Delhi, but it’s not decided yet,” Mir added.
Party sources confided that Rahul and Kharge may also meet National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah for forging a pre-poll alliance. Sources said both Congress and NC leadership have started talks on formation of alliance. During his meeting with leaders, Kharge and Rahul could give final go-ahead to the NC-Congress alliance.
The NC and Congress have already started talks for the formation of an alliance for the assembly elections. Both the parties contested Lok Sabha polls jointly as part of India Alliance and majority of leaders in both the parties are in favour of continuing the alliance.
Both Rahul Gandhi and Malikarjun Kharge will travel to Jammu and then will fly to Kashmir on Wednesday evening.
“On August 21 and 22, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Jammu and Srinagar for key meetings in preparation for the upcoming assembly elections,” Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal stated on ‘X’.
On Monday, NC vice-president and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said that talks with Congress are going at the highest level.
“Congress cannot force or compel us to hold an alliance with any political party... We cannot force each other. We have been holding talks with Congress at the highest level,” he said.
Newly elected Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra on Monday said the NC has approached the Congress leadership, adding, “To my knowledge the National Conference has already approached our central leadership.”
A senior Congress leader said most party leaders want alliance with the NC, though talks have also been opened with other parties.
Though the NC leadership is also ready for an alliance, they don’t want to concede seats in Kashmir and want good deals in Jammu. “We are also ready for an alliance but that should be based on genuine formula and strength of the party,” a senior NC leader said.
