In a significant move, the Congress party in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday expelled a district unit president along with several other leaders from the basic membership of the party. As per the information, the action was taken against them for defying the party’s alliance with the National Conference (NC) and contesting as Independents in the ongoing Assembly elections.
The expelled leaders were found to be acting against the spirit of the Congress-NC alliance, which was formed to strengthen their position in the region's electoral battle. By deciding to contest independently, these members were seen as undermining the unity and electoral strategy of the alliance, prompting the party to take swift disciplinary action. "Breach of alliance unity shall not be tolerated," a spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) said. He said the party has expelled Srinagar district president Imtiyaz Ahmad Khan and two others from the basic membership of the party.
Rahul Gandhi's appeal to J-K voters
Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi urged people in Jammu and Kashmir to vote for the INDIA bloc, saying every such vote would ensure the return of their rights and bring employment. "My brothers and sisters of Jammu and Kashmir, today the first phase of voting is being held. For the first time in the history of the country, a state's statehood has been taken away and it has been made a union territory - this is a violation of all your constitutional rights, an insult to Jammu and Kashmir," Gandhi said in a post in X. "Your every vote for INDIA will ensure return of your rights, will bring employment, will make women strong, will bring you out of the 'era of injustice', will make Jammu and Kashmir prosperous again," he added.
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections
The first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections is being held today (September 18), marking a significant political event as the region holds its first assembly polls in a decade and the first since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. A total of 24 seats are up for contention, spread across six districts, with 16 constituencies in the Kashmir region and 8 in the Jammu region. Over 23 lakh registered voters are expected to decide the fate of 219 candidates in the first phase. The other two phases are scheduled to be held on September 25 and October 1, while the counting of the votes will take place on October 8.
(With inputs from PTI)
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