Srinagar, Oct 13 (KNO): Did National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah assure senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi that a safe seat would be allocated to the party in the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls? Congress leaders claim he did, but the National Conference has denied giving any such assurance.
According to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), senior leadership from both parties were engaged in behind-the-scenes negotiations over seat-sharing arrangements. Congress had requested a safe seat, but the National Conference declined, offering instead a “risky” seat where the BJP holds an advantageous position.
They revealed that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge personally initiated communication with the NC leadership. “He spoke to Dr. Farooq Abdullah over the phone and expressed the desire that a safe seat be allocated to Congress,” sources said, adding that Dr. Abdullah later met Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.
During these talks, Congress leaders claimed that Farooq Abdullah had offered a safe seat to the party, although there was no independent confirmation of this.
In a handout issued to the media on Sunday evening, Congress reiterated its claim. “The meeting expressed dismay over the unilateral announcement by senior coalition partner National Conference of its three candidates and the offer of a fourth seat to Congress, despite an assurance to the top leadership of Congress of leaving a secure seat for our party,” the handout stated.
Sources also said that Congress MP and general secretary in-charge of J&K, Syed Nasir Hussain, had planned to travel to Srinagar to discuss the seat-sharing arrangement. “He was advised to meet Omar Abdullah in Delhi, who was scheduled to arrive the following day,” sources added.
The meeting between Omar Abdullah and Nasir Hussain reportedly took place on October 9 in New Delhi.
During the meeting, Omar Abdullah is said to have told Hussain that the NC had not offered a safe seat to Congress. “The NC leadership did not maintain communication with Congress after the meeting. There was complete silence between the two sides from October 9 to October 12,” sources said.
Fear of cross-voting derailed final push for unity
Last-ditch efforts to bring NC and Congress together for the Rajya Sabha polls failed due to disagreements over the voting conditions of independent MLAs, who are not required to disclose their votes to authorized polling agents.
Discussions between the two parties continued late into the night, following Congress’s public refusal on Sunday evening to contest the riskier seat offered by NC.
“We made it clear to the NC leadership 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 told KNO.
However, the proposal was reportedly rejected by NC. “The independents are not bound to show their marked ballots to anyone. If they do, their votes are liable to be cancelled. In contrast, NC MLAs, being part of a political party, are required to show their marked ballots to authorized polling agents,” the Congress leader added.
Of the 53 MLAs supporting the ruling alliance, five are independents: Satish Sharma (Minister, Chamb segment), Pyare Lal (Inderwal), Dr. Rameshwar Singh (Bani), Muzaffar Khan (Rajouri), and Choudhary Akram (Surankote).
As per election rules, independent MLAs are not required to display their marked ballots, unlike party-affiliated MLAs who must show their votes to authorized agents.
These voting conditions raised concerns within Congress about the possibility of cross-voting. “How can we rely on independents when we are not in power and are merely offering outside support?” a Congress leader questioned—(KNO)