J&K Cong not in favour of pact with NC ahead of 2014 polls

The Congress in Jammu and Kashmir is not in favour of a pre-poll alliance with the National Conference (NC) for the 2014 Lok Sabha or assembly elections. Aurangzeb Naqshbandi reports.

The Congress in Jammu and Kashmir is not in favour of a pre-poll alliance with the National Conference (NC) for the 2014 Lok Sabha or assembly elections.

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A delegation of the state Congress met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Srinagar on Tuesday and requested him that the party should “go at it alone” in both Lok Sabha and assembly elections, scheduled for 2014.

Many influential state leaders want the party high command to take a final call on the alliance issue only after the elections. Their understanding is that the Congress stands to gain if it adopts the “go-it-alone” policy given the “negative public sentiment” that prevails against the NC throughout the state.

The leaders further argued that post-poll the Congress will have a “choice to select its alliance partner” with both the NC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as options.

They also urged the Prime Minister to resist any move by chief minister Omar Abdullah to hold assembly elections simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls.