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Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge to address party cadre in Jammu today
Pre-poll talks with NC on, Congress open to like-minded parties to keep BJP at bay; ex-minister Raman Bhalla
In the run-up to assembly polls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge will interact with party workers in Jammu on Thursday.
“Both the leaders will hold a workers’ meeting in the afternoon to galvanise party cadres for the ensuing polls,” party spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.
“After their interaction in Srinagar this evening, they will fly to Jammu in the afternoon on Thursday to continue their interactions with the cadres of 10 districts of the region. Thereafter, they will return to Delhi,” he added.
The visit comes after Kharge and Gandhi met general secretaries, in-charges and screening committee members of four poll-bound states on Monday.
The three-phase elections to the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly will be held on September 18, September 25 and October 1.
The Congress has already made it clear that it was open to forming an alliance in Jammu and Kashmir with like-minded parties, with the primary objective of keeping the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at bay.
The newly-appointed Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra had on Monday said the party is open to talks with like-minded parties to strike a “respectable alliance” for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls but the parameters for such a tie-up would be different from the Lok Sabha elections.
With BJP on a sticky wicket, the Congress and the National Conference besides Peoples Democratic Party may go for a grand alliance.
On pre-poll alliance, JKPCC working president and former minister Raman Bhalla said, “Talks are on with the National Conference and like-minded parties. The motive is to defeat divisive politics of the BJP. Discussions are on and options are open,”
Bhalla, however, expressed regrets over holding elections without restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, saying, “Statehood has not been restored but at the same time LG has been given more powers. These elections are being held half heartedly.”
The former minister exuded confidence of an impressive performance by the Congress party in the ensuing polls.
“The top leadership of the Congress feels the pain of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Congress wants to apply balm on their wounds. Congress is the only option for the people of J&K, who have been betrayed in the past 10 years”, he responded to the party’s prospects.
When asked about prospective CM from the two parties, if they get the numbers, Bhalla said, “It depends upon talks by the high command and on the number of seats won by each of the two parties.”
Following delimitation exercise in May 2022, J&K has now 90 assembly constituencies—47 in Kashmir and 43 in Jammu. Simple majority figure of 46 is required to form the government.
Party spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said that the Congress will contest the ensuing polls with full might to end 10 years of people’s sufferings.
“Our rights were trampled upon, resources being plundered and unemployment spiralling. Therefore, people now want Congress,” he said.
