After writing a hard-hitting letter to the former Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Tariq Hameed Karra, on Thursday, formally announced Congress's decision to support its coalition partner, the National Conference (NC), in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
The announcement came as a major relief for the ruling NC, which has been eyeing a clean sweep of all four Rajya Sabha seats on the strength of non-BJP votes in the Legislative Assembly. The Congress's endorsement consolidates the ruling alliance's position and bolsters its numerical advantage ahead of Friday's polling.
"Post discussions on sharing of four Rajya Sabha seats between us, it was not so pleasant an experience in the backdrop of expectations and understanding we had arrived at at the time of forging the alliance. However, the hiccups that generally occur in such arrangements don't deter us from taking a principled stand", the letter written by Tariq Hameed Karra to National Conference president Dr. Farooq Abdullah reads.
"It has been very enduring for Congress as a party of values and as an ardent lover of secular ethos to forego personal and party interests if confronting to a larger cause. Our electoral alliance with your party (NC) in the 2024 Assembly polls emanated from this larger commitment of ours. Besides our dislike for the BJP, which has been imposing agonies on the people of J&K, it was our desire to stand united and serve the suffering people hand in hand, which we did irrespective of the negativities that were involved during the course of partnership", the letter, in the possession of the International Business Times, further reads.
"Our one-year experience is disappointing."
In his letter, Karra said that one year of experience of the Congress with the National Conference was disappointing.
"Sad as this appears, our one-year experience has been of disappointment. Our party colleagues in the Legislative Assembly in particular, and the party cadre in general, bore instant humiliations and your apathy. Though we were never partners in compulsion, nor would we ever be", he stated in his letter.
"We have now again chosen to be on your side primarily and necessarily to stand united against what we call the BJP agenda of atrocities and subjugation. It bears no mention that Congress as a party could ever be questioned for any move, intent, or act directed to defeat communal forces in general and the BJP in particular", Karra stated.
"In this backdrop, having or not having a share in the seats of any institutions, even as legitimate, is immaterial for us and our persistent pro-people struggle. We feel happy, as a party of ethos, to keep all differences on the back burner at this hour of paramount challenges and with pleasure convey our decision to vote for NC candidates as candidates of the alliance", he said, adding, "Let it bear mention that our central leadership has again been generous to guide us to this decision. Onus is now on you to prove yourself".
"After two rounds of deliberations since yesterday and following detailed consultations with the central leadership, who had sought certain clarifications and inputs from them, the party has collectively arrived at a decision to support the ruling National Conference in the Rajya Sabha elections," Karra told The International Business Times.
"The upcoming Rajya Sabha elections have posed a new challenge. We sincerely hope that the National Conference keeps its flock together against all temptations and manipulations—and in that endeavour, we extend our full support. All our six Congress MLAs will support the NC," the Congress president added.
Congress Annoyed Over Not Getting a 'Safe' Rajya Sabha Seat
The decision comes after weeks of speculation about the Congress's stance, with some leaders reportedly upset over the National Conference's refusal to allocate a "safe" Rajya Sabha seat to the grand old party. The uncertainty had fueled tensions within the coalition and cast doubts over the opposition's ability to present a united front.
Party insiders said the Congress high command intervened to ensure that the alliance remained intact, viewing the Rajya Sabha elections as a crucial test of opposition cohesion in the Union Territory. "A divided opposition would have benefitted only the BJP," a senior Congress functionary remarked, welcoming the leadership's "timely and pragmatic" decision.
With both the PDP and the Congress now backing the NC for key seats, political observers believe the ruling party is well positioned to secure a majority of the four Rajya Sabha seats at stake. The contest, however, is expected to intensify for the fourth seat, where the BJP is banking on Independent MLAs and possible abstentions to tilt the balance in its favour.
Earlier, former Chief Minister and National Conference president Dr. Farooq Abdullah said that the Congress is backing the party in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
Speaking to media persons, Dr. Abdullah said, "The Congress is with us, and they are supporting us in the Rajya Sabha elections."
