Seat-sharing among INDIA bloc parties will be completed without any hurdle: Congress

Srinagar, Dec 20 (PTI) INDIA bloc parties will complete the seat-sharing process for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections comfortably without any hurdle and there will be a joint opposition candidate against the BJP-led NDA on every seat, a senior Congress leader said on Wednesday.

“Consultations are on and seat-sharing will be done comfortably. There will be no hurdle in that,” Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Ghulam Ahmad Mir told reporters in Anantnag district in south Kashmir.

Mir said the alliance would field a joint candidate everywhere, including in Jammu and Kashmir, so that votes do not get divided.

“If any party in J-K is with them (BJP), then they will be on one side and one candidate of INDIA alliance will be on the other. We will have only one candidate contesting on a seat so that the votes don’t get divided and the people vote on one symbol only as only then will it be possible to bring a change in India in 2024,” he said.

The CWC member said the thinking among the alliance partners is that every party will get its due.

On reports about Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar being miffed, Mir said it was only the media’s creation.

“Kumar is the architect and initiator of the alliance and there is no such thing. The alliance is ready to fight the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) in 2024,” he said.

The former Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president said providing certain guarantees such as land and job rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir will be a part of the agenda of the alliance.

“The upcoming fight in 2024 is between the BJP and the INDIA alliance. These guarantees will be part of the agenda of the alliance and will be provided under the ambit of the Constitution,” he said.

The CWC member said his party is committed to provide these rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The Congress party accepts the Supreme Court verdict (on Article 370) as it is the highest court, but the requirement and the demand of the people of Jammu and Kashmir as of today is the protection of their rights to land, jobs and resources.

“The Congress wanted to give these rights and it is clear that the BJP wants to take those away. The Congress is committed to provide these rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.