Srinagar, Oct 22: Amid escalating tensions within the ruling alliance in Jammu & Kashmir, the Congress party on Wednesday skipped a joint strategy meeting convened by the National Conference (NC) to deliberate on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and the autumn session of the Legislative Assembly.The Congress leadership decided against participating in the meeting, which was aimed at formulating a joint strategy for the legislative calendar and Rajya Sabha polls.Sources told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the party will hold another meeting tomorrow at 6:00 PM to discuss its strategy for the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled on October 24.“The discussions remained inconclusive today. The views put forth by MLAs during the meeting will be presented to the Congress high command. A final decision-whether to vote or abstain-will be taken during tomorrow’s meeting,” sources said.The NC had extended invitations to all legislators of the ruling alliance, including six Congress MLAs, five independents, and CPI(M) MLA Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami, for the meeting scheduled at Hotel Radisson Collection.The rift between the NC and Congress has been widening over the past two weeks, particularly after the NC denied Congress a safe seat in the Rajya Sabha elections. Instead, the NC offered a riskier seat, which Congress declined to contest. The NC also proposed the Nagrota Assembly seat to Congress, which was similarly rejected.
