NC to contest all six seats from JK
Farooq to seek re-election from Sgr
Srinagar: The National Conference Monday decided to contest all six Lok Sabha seats in the state, but has left a slim possibility of an alliance with the Congress “based on the national scenario”.
The National Conference and the Congress have been in talks for the past few days for a pre-poll alliance.
The Parliamentary board of the National Conference met here this evening after which a decision to contest all the six Lok Sabha seats was taken, the party said.
Seemingly, the talks could not move as there were differences over seat-sharing, sources said.
But, in what could be seen as a possible opportunity for a tie-up, NC sources said the party’s Parliamentary Board left the final decision on party’s patron Farooq Abdullah. “based on the national scenario”.
Meanwhile, an NC spokesman said Abdullah will seek reelection from the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat while former Jammu and Kashmir speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone will be the party’s candidate from the Baramulla constituency.
The NC parliamentary board, which met here on Monday, also authorised the party president to take a final decision on any coalition with “secular forces taking into account the national political situation”, according to the spokesman.
The board met at the NC’s headquarters ‘Nawa-e-Subha’. The meeting was chaired by Abdullah, he said.
Members of the National Conference (NC) parliamentary board were unanimously of the opinion that the party should contest all the six parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesman said.
The board has decided to field Abdullah from the Srinagar-Budgam constituency, and senior leader and former speaker of the state assembly Mohammad Akbar Lone from the Baramulla constituency, he said.
The names of the candidates for other constituencies will be finalised in the next meeting of the board, the spokesman said. (PTI)
Press Trust of India
