Ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, the National Conference (NC) and the Congress announced an alliance and will contest the forthcoming Assembly polls together. The formal announcement about the alliance was made by NC leader and fomer CM Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. "The alliance has been finalised and the details of seat-sharing will be announced soon. The alliance will fight on all 90 seats in Jammu and Kashmir," Farooq Abdullah said.
He stated that the people in the UT have suffered much in the last 10 years and statehood is the prime concern for the locals. He added that the common program would be to fight divisive forces.
Prior to this, Rahul Gandhi asserted that it was his and his party's duty to ensure that the people of Jammu and Kashmir get their democratic rights back and that statehood is restored.
As per the Election Commission announcement, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 will be held in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The results will be declared on October 4.
Amid these developments, it is interesting to note that this is not the first time that the Congress and the NC have formed an alliance to fight Assembly elections. In the past, both parties have formed governments together. And there were elections when both parties fought against each other. In this article, we will tell you about the on-and-off relationship between these two major parties in Jammu and Kashmir.
How J-K assembly polls in 1987 were mired in controversy
The general elections for Jammu and Kashmir were held on March 23, 1987 and Farooq Abdullah was reappointed as the Chief Minister. However, the election was widely perceived to have been rigged and it led to the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir. After the general elections in 1989, which saw low turn-out, Governor's Rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in 1990, which lasted till 1996.
The 1987 elections were mired in controversy as then Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Jagmohan, dismissed the Ghulam Mohammad Shah-led Awami National Conference government in 1986, igniting anger in the Valley. Jagmohan's action was also seen as undermining Kashmir's Muslim-majority identity.
The agreement between Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, an attempt to reconcile with him, sparked outrage in the Valley. However, this alliance failed to quell mounting sentiments against it.
J-K Assembly polls 1996: No alliance between Congress, NC
Assembly elections for Jammu and Kashmir were held over September-October 1996 and Farooq Abdullah became Chief Minister. Notably, the National Conference, which had boycotted the 1996 general election, agreed to participate in the 1996 Assembly elections only after HD Deve Gowda promised "maximum autonomy" for Jammu and Kashmir.
In the 1996 Assembly elections, the National Conference won 57 out of 87 seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested first time on 29 seats in the state and won 4 seats. On the other hand, the BJP rose from two seats in 1987 to 8 seats in 1996.
J-K Lok Sabha Elections 1998
In the 1998 general election in Jammu and Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference won 3 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 2 seats and the Indian National Congress won 1 seat.
J-K Assembly polls 2002: No alliance between Congress, NC
The Assembly polls for Jammu and Kashmir were held in September-October 2002 in four phases and the National Conference was the single largest party but lacked a majority. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Indian National Congress formed a coalition government with PDP's Mufti Mohammad Sayeed serving as the Chief Minister for the first three years and Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad for the next three years.
J-K Assembly polls 2008: Congress, NC form alliance
The elections for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were held over seven days in November and December 2008. The earlier government led by the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (PDP) in coalition with the Indian National Congress (INC) collapsed when the PDP withdrew. After the election, the National Conference (NC) agreed on a coalition with Congress and their leader, Omar Abdullah became the state's youngest-ever Chief Minister at 38.
Lok Sabha Elections 2009: Congress, NC form alliance
The 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the NC and the Congress fought the elections together in allinace. The Lok Sabha polls were held for 6 seats and the National Conference won 3 seats, whereas the Congress won 2 and one was won by an Independent politician Hassan Khan.
In Lok Sabha elections 2009, Manmohan Singh had assured Farooq Abdullah that he will be inducted into the Cabinet when the first expansion takes place.
J-K assembly polls 2014: No alliance between Congress, NC
Interestingly, the Farooq Abdullah-led NC had offered its support to the PDP after the 2014 Assembly elections. The PDP had, however, declined the offer and instead joined hands with the BJP to form the government. In June, the alliance partners split and the Governor's rule was imposed.
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress, NC form alliance
In the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, the Congress and the National Conference formed their alliance and announced the subsequent seat-sharing agreement in Jammu and Kashmir. According to Omar Abdullah, the Congress contested from Udhampur, Jammu and Ladakh Lok Sabha seats and National Conference candidates fought from Anantnag, Baramulla and Srinagar Lok Sabha seats.
The seat-sharing deal between the two parties came after Mehbooba Mufti-led People's Democratic Party (PDP) announced its candidates for three seats in the Kashmir Valley. Notably, the PDP announced candidates after it decided to contest all seats alone.
