SRI NAGAR: The top Congress leadership has stayed away from campaigning in the ongoing first-ever District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu and Kashmir, which assumes significance as it is the first major political exercise after the scrapping og Article 370 in the last year.
A senior J&K Congress leader said they had written to the high command urging the party leadership to send some senior leaders. "We had demanded that some senior leaders should canvas votes for party candidates. However, barring the two-day visit by Congress J&K incharge Rajni Patil to Jammu, none visited the UT," the Congress leader said.
With top leaders staying away from polls, the local Congress leaders have taken onto themselves to campaign for the party candidates.
Unlike the Congress, Union ministers and top BJP brass have been visiting the region for campaigning. J&K Congress vice-president Ghulam Nabi Monga, while downplaying the issue, said the DDC polls is a local election. "It suits the local leaders to highlight the local issues," he said.
Taking a dig at the BJP for sending Union ministers and top leaders to campaign, Monga said, "It seems the party either does not trust its local leadership or the local leadership is not competent."
In 140 seats in Jammu, it is a triangular contest between the BJP, Congress and the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) while for 140 seats in Valley, there is a multilateral contest between the BJP, Congress, PAGD and Apni Party.