Notwithstanding the clarification issued by Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma regarding the party's decision not to contest the by-elections, uneasiness has reportedly gripped the ruling coalition in J&K after the National Conference refused to offer a "safe" Rajya Sabha seat to the grand old party.
As a mark of protest against what it termed as betrayal by the National Conference in the Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress decided not to contest the by-election for the Nagrota Assembly segment, which had been offered to it by the NC.
"The Congress has decided to leave the Nagrota Assembly seat to its ally, the National Conference, keeping in view the larger interests and the common goal of defeating the BJP," Ravinder Sharma told The International Business Times, seeking to play down reports of discord within the coalition.
"After detailed deliberations over the report of the J&K Congress and taking into account various factors—including the fact that in the last Assembly elections in 2024, contested jointly by the Congress and the National Conference on a friendly basis, the National Conference had secured second position in Nagrota—the central leadership of the Congress has decided to leave the seat to its ally," he said.
"Keeping in view the broader parameters and principles of the coalition, the central leadership of the Congress has decided to let the National Conference contest the seat in furtherance of the larger objective of defeating the BJP," Sharma added.
Following the Congress decision, the National Conference announced DDC member Shamim Begum as its candidate for the Nagrota seat.
The by-elections in Nagrota and Budgam were necessitated after the resignation of sitting MLAs from these constituencies upon their election to Parliament earlier this year. The Election Commission subsequently announced bypolls to fill the vacancies.
The BJP has fielded Devyani Rana, daughter of senior party leader Devender Singh Rana, who had won the Nagrota seat by a margin of over 30,000 votes in the September–October 2024 Assembly elections. The seat fell vacant following the sudden demise of Devender Rana.
The National Conference has also announced Agha Syed Mehmood as its candidate for the Budgam seat.
NC offered Nagrota seat to Congress to pacify "annoyed" ally
After denying a safe Rajya Sabha seat to its coalition partner, the ruling National Conference had offered the Nagrota Assembly seat to the Congress in a bid to maintain harmony within the alliance in Jammu and Kashmir.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday had announced that the National Conference would contest the Budgam bypoll while expressing readiness to support a Congress candidate from Nagrota, subject to approval by the Congress high command.
"Only two days are left for filing nominations for the byelections to the two seats. For the Budgam seat, the National Conference will contest. For the Nagrota seat, we have told the Congress that if they want to field their own candidate, we are ready to support them," Omar Abdullah said on Friday, hinting that Congress to announce a candidate on the Nagrota seat.
He added, "The Congress leadership has sought permission from their high command. If approval is granted, their candidate will file nomination papers in Nagrota, and the NC will wholeheartedly work for their victory."
