Congress eyes Rajya Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar, Oct 02: The Congress party is expected to stake its claim for one of the four Rajya Sabha seats scheduled for election on October 24, with senior leader Digvijay Singh set to initiate discussions with alliance partner, National Conference (NC), over the matter.

Top Congress leaders from New Delhi told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that Digvijay Singh, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, is likely to seek one seat for the party in the Rajya Sabha elections. “He will formally take up the matter with the National Conference,” they said, adding that Singh is expected to speak with NC president Dr. Farooq Abdullah or Chief Minister Omar Abdullah regarding the issue.

Singh was entrusted by the Congress high command in April this year to oversee the functioning and engage in discussions regarding the INC-NC coalition partnership in J&K.

He was also directed to coordinate closely with the Jammu & Kashmir in-charge and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President Tariq Hamid Karra on these matters.

In the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, the NC-Congress alliance is poised to comfortably secure three of the four seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in a strong position to win the remaining seat.

In the current House composition, the ruling alliance holds 53 members, while the BJP has 28.

The non-BJP opposition bloc comprises seven legislators- three from PDP, one each from PC and AAP and two independents—(KNO)