Party likely to decide on seat-sharing with NC; meeting to be chaired by PCC chief Tariq Hameed Karra
SRINAGAR, Oct 11: The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) has convened a high-level meeting of its top leadership in Srinagar on Sunday to chalk out the party’s strategy for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and by-elections to two Assembly constituencies in the Union Territory.
Party sources said the meeting, to be chaired by JKPCC president Tariq Hameed Karra at the party headquarters, will be attended by senior leaders from both the Kashmir and Jammu regions. The agenda includes finalising the party’s approach to the four Rajya Sabha seats going to polls on October 24, as well as deliberating on the Budgam and Nagrota Assembly bypolls scheduled for November.
According to sources, the Congress is in advanced discussions with its ally, the National Conference (NC), for possible seat-sharing arrangements in the upper house elections. The NC has already announced candidates for three of the four Rajya Sabha seats, leaving one seat open “as talks with the Congress were still underway.”
“The Congress had sought the support of the National Conference for one of the Rajya Sabha seats. The final call on the alliance strategy and candidate will likely be taken during Sunday’s meeting,” a senior party functionary said.
The Rajya Sabha elections are being seen as a key test of coordination between the Congress and the NC, both part of the INDIA bloc at the national level. While both parties have expressed willingness to work together to prevent the BJP from gaining ground in J&K, they have also been weighing their own regional equations and vote strengths.
The Congress meeting will also assess the party’s preparedness for the Assembly bypolls in Budgam and Nagrota, where campaign plans, candidate selection, and coordination with like-minded parties are expected to be discussed.
“The discussions will focus on strengthening grassroots mobilisation, selecting winnable candidates, and reinforcing the party’s messaging on local governance and public issues,” sources added.
The by-elections are being viewed as politically significant ahead of the much-awaited full-fledged Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which are expected to be announced next year.
Sunday’s strategy session is likely to set the tone for the Congress’s election campaign in the region, as the party seeks to regain lost ground and project itself as a key player in J&K’s evolving political landscape.
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