SRI NAGAR: The Congress clarified that it has not joined Peoples’ Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) but entered into a seat sharing agreement with seven parties for the District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
Congress state vice-president Ghulam Nabi Monga told this newspaper that Congress was not part of the PAGD, which was formed in October by the seven parties — NC, PDP, Peoples Conference, ANC, JKPM, CPI (M) and CPI — for restoration of Articles 370, 35A and statehood to J&K.
“We have only entered into a seat sharing agreement for the DDC polls,” he said.
The DDC polls for 280 seats will be held in eight phases from December 1 to December 19. Results will be out on December 22.
Asked whether the PAGD and the Congress would be going for a joint campaign, Monga said, “The decision to this effect will be taken in the next meeting. The meeting will decide whether we should campaign jointly or separately.”
He asserted that the arrangement is only for DDC polls and not beyond that. “Articles 370 and 35A will be our main agenda (for the DDC polls). We stand for restoration of Articles 370 and 35A.”
The J&K Congress vice-president said the alliance will be in a direct contest with the BJP.
“Our candidates will be winning. People of Jammu and Kashmir are feeling hurt by removal of Articles 370 and 35A and bifurcation of state and are with us,” he said.
“The BJP is trying to give it a communal colour but the people have understood that they are on the receiving end after scrapping of Article 370.”
Monga also ruled out any impact of party’s Bihar loss on the local polls in J&K.
‘Governance easy without hurriyat’
Hurriyat’s decimation after the scrapping of Article 370 will make governance easy in J&K, Apni Party leader Javaid Hassan Baig said.
“The Hurriyat used to call for a month-long strike on militant’s killing. The Hurriyat used to come out with a protest schedule. It had a direct impact on J&K government,” the ex-MLA said.