“We want to contest first or second seat, have communicated over viewpoint to Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah”: Tariq Karra
Srinagar, Oct 12: After a four-and-a-half-hour marathon meeting, the Jammu & Kashmir Congress unit announced on Sunday that it will not contest the “risky” Rajya Sabha seat being offered by the National Conference.
Speaking to reporters, as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Pradesh Congress Committee President Tariq Hamid Karra said the party has decided not to contest the fourth seat offered to them.
“A threadbare discussion was held regarding the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. The unanimous view among members was that our central leadership had sought a safer seat—either seat number 1 or 2. However, the National Conference offered us seat number 4, which is comparatively less safe. Given the circumstances, it was unanimously decided that we will not field a candidate for seat number 4 and will leave the decision to our alliance partners,” Karra said.
He added that the party has conveyed its position to the National Conference leadership. “We officially wrote a letter to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah regarding our viewpoint. He asked us to forward the letter to Farooq Abdullah, which we have done. We have not received any response yet,” he said.
He said that Congress members expressed resentment and unhappiness over governance, development issues, and the absence of a coordination committee among alliance partners
