J-K Assembly Elections: Congress-NC stitch pre-poll alliance

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday called on the National Conference leadership for a pre-poll alliance for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls. Immediately after an interaction with party workers, Gandhi and Kharge drove to the residence of NC president Farooq Abdullah and vice president Omar Abdullah at the Gupkar Road in Srinagar.

A Congress party leader said the visiting leaders are meeting the Abdullahs to discuss a possible pre-poll alliance for the assembly polls.

The leader said the two parties have been holding deliberations at the local level for the alliance.

According to an NC leader, the parties have had three rounds of discussions over the shape of the alliance and seat-sharing between them.

"The discussions were held in a cordial manner and we are hopeful of an alliance," the NC leader said.

He, however, said any decision on forging the pre-poll alliance will be taken by the leadership of both the parties.

The two parties had contested the Lok Sabha polls together as part of the INDIA Bloc with the Congress losing both the seats in Jammu, while NC lost one of the three it contested in the Kashmir valley.

Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases -- September 18, September 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will be held on October 4.