National Conference leader Omar Abdullah while talking to the media after its victory in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)- Kargil elections said that his party had a pre-poll understanding with the Congress about holding the chief executive councillor post in rotation. He added that the decision to have a rotational chief executive councillor has not changed after the results. The National Conference and Congress celebrated the victory of their alliance in the elections to LAHDC- Kargil at the party headquarters on Sunday. The former won 12 seats and the latter won 10 out of the total 26 seats. Together, their coalition won 22 seats out of the 26 that were up for grabs. The CPI(M) said that the result created hope for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Bhartiya Janta Party and the independents managed victory in two seats each.
Abdullah said, “It was decided before the polls that we will have rotational chief executive councillor in Kargil for two and a half years each. It has not changed after the results and it would not have changed even if we had 16 seats and the Congress had only six.”
When he was asked about which party would have the first go at the post, he said, “Being the bigger partner, the National Conference should be the first. That will also be in line with the coalition dharma. I do not think the Congress would want to set the precedence for the INDIA alliance. If the Congress emerges as the single largest party (in the Lok Sabha polls), will it forego the prime minister’s post for a smaller partner?”
The NC-Congress alliance dubbed the results as a “referendum” against the Modi government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir which took place on August 5, 2019.
Former minister Ajay Sadhotra who was present at the NC headquarters on the occasion yesterday said, “The BJP is afraid of holding (assembly) elections in Jammu and Kashmir and the Kargil poll victory vindicated its fear. We are sure of forming the next government in J&K.” He took a jibe at the BJP for its failure to hold the assembly elections in J&K for the last five years and said, “We do not know why democracy is stopped when it reaches Lakhanpur (the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir).”
J&K Congress working president Raman Bhalla marked the Kargil poll victory by distributing sweets and bursting firecrackers. He also raised slogans in praise of Rahul Gandhi and the party for ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.