Srinagar: National Conference (NC) on Friday announced its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan, Shammi Oberoi, and Sajad Kichloo have been nominated to contest the polls.
Addressing a press conference, NC general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar said the party has finalized three candidates and is in discussions with the Congress regarding the fourth seat.
“We have kept one seat open, and talks are ongoing with the Congress,” Sagar said.
NC leaders did not clarify whether they intended to leave one of the three safe seats for the Congress or offer them a competitive seat where the BJP holds an advantage.
While the alliance has 24 votes for the fourth seat, the BJP commands 28 votes.
Meanwhile, the party is yet to make public its decision on the candidates for the two vacant assembly seats — one in central Budgam district, vacated by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on October 21, and another in Jammu’s Nagrota, which fell vacant following the death of BJP legislator Devender Singh Rana on October 31 last year.
“Party’s core committee held a meeting today which was chaired by president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah, It was unanimously decided that Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan, Shammi Oberio, and Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo would run for the three vacant Rajya Sabha seats,” Sagar said.
Sagar, who was accompanied by the party’s provincial president, Nasir Aslam Wani, responded to a question from the media on whether the party would field a candidate of its own for the fourth seat or fight it in coalition with the Congress by saying that talks are on with the Congress and that any decision made in this regard will be communicated appropriately.
“Our pre-poll alliance with the Congress has not yet been finalized; three of our candidates have been nominated for the Rajya Sabha elections, and we will communicate the outcome of the decision about the fourth seat appropriately,” Wani said, adding for the two Assembly seats, there is time for by-elections, thus the party’s legislative board would meet once more to decide on candidates.
Regarding the Supreme Court of India’s direction to the centre to file within four weeks its response regarding J&K’s statehood, the NC leader said the decision will be “just and in favor of the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.
On Pahalgam attack reference, Wani replied that the court’s decision on any given issue, not the referrals, is what matters.
In response to a follow-up question on whether senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh met with the NC leadership, Wani said while big leaders do meet and discuss issues, it is not always the case that all of the information discussed would be made public.
