Says party was nowhere involved in seat sharing, decision had to be made by PDP, NC

Srinagar, Apr 18: Former Congress Chief and senior leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Thursday said  that unlike NC, Congress would have sacrificed one seat for PDP President Mehbooba Mufti had the Anantnag- Rajouri seat been with the Congress party.

A tussle between PDP and NC was earlier witnessed when latter remained adamant on contesting on all three LS seats of Kashmir, compelling the PDP to breakaway from pre-poll alliance and field its own candidates in the fray.

According to the news agency correspondent,  Mir while accompanying Mian Altaf-the NC candidate, who submitted his nomination papers in Anantnag on Thursday, told reporters that  the PDP President Mehbooba Mufti contesting the elections is not a setback for the India alliance. “NC and PDP had to fight together for this seat. Because it was understood from the beginning that the constituent parties of the India Alliance would field candidates on those seats, where they had won in the 2019 elections. The valley seats were last won by NC. In such a situation, this decision had to be taken only between PDP and NC. Had this seat been with the Congress, we would have been willing to sacrifice it to accommodate the PDP. Now Mian Altaf is the candidate of India Alliance,” Mir told reporters.

The former JKPCC Chief alleged that the BJP has tried to use one or the other religious issue in every election so that it does not have to answer for its governance. “This is the first election in which the BJP has not been successful in its strategy of diverting from the real issues facing the country,” Mir said.

Accompanying Mian Altaf, senior Congress leader Ghulam Ahmed Mir expressed confidence in the India Alliance’s prospects. “People are tired of BJP’s policies. This election is a direct contest between the India Alliance and the NDA. There’s no room for other parties. J&K voters are politically astute; Congress candidates will secure both Jammu seats,” Mir said—(KNO)