National Conference and Congress Form Alliance for Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Polls

The National Conference and the Congress Party have formed an alliance for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. According to the seat-sharing agreement, the National Conference will contest 51 out of the 90 seats, while the Congress will contest 32. The parties will also have a ‘friendly contest’ on five seats. One seat each has been allotted to the CPI(M) and the Panthers Party. This alliance marks the first time since 1987 that both parties have come together before an election. While talks for an alliance were initiated last week with a visit from Rahul Gandhi to National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, the final agreement was reached on Monday after discussions between Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Salman Khurshid with National Conference leaders in Srinagar.