SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (NC) President, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, has officially announced a pre-election alliance between the National Conference and the Congress party. The alliance will cover all 90 assembly seats, with the finalization of the agreement expected by Thursday night.
Speaking to reporters, Dr Farooq Abdullah confirmed that the Congress, NC, and CPI(M) will collaborate for the upcoming elections. “We will work together and contest the elections as a united front. We remain hopeful that statehood will be restored. Our doors remain open to everyone,” Abdullah stated.
This announcement follows a visit by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP, Rahul Gandhi, to Dr Abdullah’s residence in Srinagar on Thursday afternoon. The meeting was attended by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, NC Vice President Omar Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee President Tariq Hameed Karra, NC Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani, and other senior leaders from both the NC and Congress.
Earlier on Thursday morning, Rahul Gandhi had hinted at the possibility of an alliance between the Congress and the National Conference, led by Dr Farooq Abdullah.
During his address to party workers in Srinagar, Gandhi underscored that any alliance would be based on the respect afforded to Congress members. “An alliance will take place, but only if the dignity of Congress workers is maintained,” he remarked.
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Despite earlier statements from Dr Farooq Abdullah suggesting that there would be no pre-election alliance, his son and NC Vice President Omar Abdullah had indicated a willingness to engage in talks with the Congress about a possible coalition. This development was highlighted during the NC’s manifesto release event in Srinagar on August 19.
Tariq Hameed Karra, President of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, also voiced the Congress party’s readiness to forge alliances with any party or individual opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its policies. Addressing party workers in Jammu, Karra remarked, “The Congress is prepared to collaborate with all like-minded parties, whether from Jammu or Kashmir, as long as they share our ideological beliefs.”
The first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in 1951, with the National Conference and Congress dominating the political landscape until 2002. On the national stage, both parties are part of the opposition INDIA alliance and jointly contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In the 2008 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, the NC secured the largest share of seats with 28, forming a coalition government with the Congress, which won 17 seats in the then 87-member House, which also included Ladakh. Following the 2019 bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh became a separate Union Territory, and the number of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly was increased to 90 after the 2022 delimitation.
The upcoming Jammu and Kashmir elections are scheduled to take place in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1, with the results to be announced on October 4.