National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said on Thursday that an alliance with the Congress is final on all 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir. “Congress and we (NC) are together. Tarigami sahab [CPM’s MY Tarigami] is also with us. I hope that our people are with us so that we can win and do better for the people…,” said Farooq Abdullah.
Abdullah’s announcement came after Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called on the National Conference leadership at Abdullah’s residence in Srinagar on Thursday.
#WATCH | Srinagar, J&K: When asked if there are chances for National Conference and PDP to come together for J&K elections, NC president Farooq Abdullah says, “Congress and we (NC) are together. Tarigami sahab (CPM’s M.Y. Tarigami) is also with us. I hope that our people are with… pic.twitter.com/hWtOSOGyU6
— ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2024
“We had a good meeting, in a cordial atmosphere. The alliance is on track and, God willing, it will run smoothly. The alliance is final. It will be signed this evening and the alliance is on all 90 seats,” Abdullah said.
Meanwhile, Khrage posted pictures of the meeting on X and said, “We, along with Shri @RahulGandhi had a warm courtesy meeting with @JKNC_ President, Shri Farooq Abdullah and JKNC Vice President, Shri @OmarAbdullah in Srinagar, today.”
Abdullah expressed hope that full statehood with all powers would be restored. “Statehood is very important for all of us. This has been promised to us. This state has witnessed bad days and we hope it will be restored with its full powers. For that, we stand together with the INDIA bloc,” he said.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi asserted that it was his and his party’s duty to ensure that the people of Jammu and Kashmir get their democratic rights back and that statehood is restored.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Rahul Gandhi said that it is the priority of both the Congress Party and the INDIA alliance to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 will be held in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The results will be declared on October 4.
(With inputs from agencies)