Congress-NC alliance under strain after seat-sharing discord

The alliance between the Congress and the National Conference (NC) has come under fresh strain following a disagreement over seat-sharing for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. The Congress has now hinted that the NC might be considering an exit from the INDIA alliance, further intensifying tensions between the two parties.On Sunday, the Congress announced that it would not contest the Rajya Sabha polls after it was not offered a winnable seat by its alliance partner. With only six MLAs in the Assembly, the Congress would require the NC’s support to secure a seat.

The rift became more pronounced after the NC unilaterally announced its three Rajya Sabha candidates and offered the fourth seat — deemed unwinnable — to the Congress. This, according to Congress leaders, contradicted earlier assurances given to their top leadership and further widened the rift between the two coalition partners.

Speaking to the media on Monday, J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra stated that the NC’s recent conduct has cast doubt on its commitment to the INDIA bloc. He said that the Congress had earlier been given an understanding that it would be allocated a safe seat, but was instead offered the fourth seat, which was considered unwinnable. "We were earlier given an understanding that we will be given a safe seat. But when the fourth seat, which was an unsafe seat for Congress, was offered, we decided to stay out of the contest. NC continued to tell us that they can only give us this seat," Karra said.

He further revealed that a meeting of senior Congress leaders was held on Sunday and lasted for over six hours. Following detailed discussions, the party unanimously decided not to contest the elections. According to Karra, many party leaders expressed dissatisfaction, particularly over the perceived breakdown in communication and trust. “Leaders of our party also expressed resentment that if the discussions with NC regarding the alliance were happening at the level of senior leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, they (NC) should not have backtracked,” he added.

Karra also pointed to a communication gap with NC leadership. He said that when the Congress sent a letter to NC vice president Omar Abdullah regarding seat sharing, they were directed to send it to party president Farooq Abdullah instead. “The language of Omar Abdullah’s response was self-explanatory — they were only willing to discuss the fourth (unsafe) seat and nothing beyond that,” Karra remarked.

While he refrained from calling the move a “betrayal,” Karra acknowledged that it had “hurt the trust of Congress.” However, he dismissed reports of abstaining from polls as “premature,” adding that the final decision would be taken by the party’s central leadership after reviewing the situation. "We will send the details to the central leadership, after which they will take a call," he said.

On the upcoming by-elections in Nagrota and Budgam scheduled for November 11, Karra said that a decision on contesting will be taken only after consultations with central leadership. He did not clarify whether the party would contest these polls independently or continue its alliance with the NC.