Nothing decided as of now on Rajya Sabha seat: Congress

Jammu, Oct 20: Congress, which has already decided not to join the J&K Council of Ministers led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, has not entered into “any kind of deliberations with the alliance partner National Conference regarding Rajya Sabha nominee, so far.”

Amid speculations about the possible contenders, representing Jammu and Kashmir in Rajya Sabha, even the National Conference has not made any attempt to reach out to it (Congress) on this account, as of now.

On the eve of the oath-taking ceremony of newly elected MLAs of the J&K Legislative Assembly, after which they become eligible to vote to elect four Rajya Sabha members from UT, the situation seems to be fluid as far as Congress is concerned. The party is finding itself nowhere in NC’s scheme of things on this count, at the moment.

The question becomes pertinent as names of NC’s probable candidates are already doing the rounds, being splashed across the media.

“No. No decision has been taken so far,” was the instant reaction of Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President Tariq Hameed Karra, responding to the Greater Kashmir query about any movement forward regarding RS nomination from Congress or any discussions with the alliance partner.

“See, on this issue, we will have to speak to our central leadership, which is authorised to take any call. But so far, no deliberations have taken place on this account,” he elaborated, when further probed on this account.

Has any message been received from alliance partner NC on this account?

Karra’s precise answer, to this direct query, was, “No, not yet.”

Earlier, JKPCC Senior Vice President and Chief Spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, responding to related queries of Greater Kashmir, had answered on similar lines.

“To my knowledge, nothing has been decided yet. If any call has been taken on this account, it would have transpired at the highest level between the leadership of two parties,” Sharma had said.

Notwithstanding their bonhomie in public, the equation between two (pre-election) alliance partners is confusing, for their own predicaments.

Sometimes it finds an expression in public also, in one context or the other.

On Saturday, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had made a fleeting observation about the alliance partner.

“So far Congress has not taken a call to be part of the new cabinet,” Omar had noted while addressing NC’s party convention in Jammu during his maiden visit after taking over the reins of J&K in his second stint as the Chief Minister.

The observation was made when he was substantiating his point that the appointment of Deputy Chief Minister from Jammu was not made under any compulsion of coalition politics.

Notably, after the oath-taking ceremony of MLAs, the Election Commission is likely to issue notifications for the RS election to four seats from J&K.

Presently there is no elected RS member from J&K. Those elected in 2015 had completed their term in 2021.