J-K polls: Congress chief Karra files nomination from Central Shalteng

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra on Thursday filed nomination papers from the Central Shalteng Assembly constituency.

He urged the people to vote wisely asserting that it was not just an election after 10 years, but an opportunity to shape Jammu and Kashmir's destiny "for the next 100 years".

The 69-year-old former Jammu and Kashmir minister also defended his party's alliance with the National Conference, saying it was to fight against "dictatorship" and to "reclaim what is rightfully ours".

Thursday was the last day for the filing of nomination papers for the second phase of the three-phase assembly elections in the Union Territory.

Central Shalteng is among 26 segments spread across Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam in Kashmir, and Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi districts in Jammu that will go to polls on September 25.

Voting for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections is scheduled to be held on September 18, September 25, and October 1.

Accompanied by enthusiastic supporters who hailed him with slogans, Karra filed his papers before the returning officer for the constituency.

"This moment marks a sacred responsibility for generations to come as I filed my nomination for the assembly elections. This is not just my nomination, but a representation of the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir who have yearned for democracy and justice," he told PTI.

Karra, a former PDP leader, who quit the party in 2016. He was a fierce critic of the BJP-PDP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir that lasted for three years before ending in 2018.

He joined the Congress in 2017, a few months after he resigned from the Lok Sabha and the basic membership of the PDP.

He handed the first-ever electoral defeat to NC president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah by winning the Srinagar parliamentary constituency in the 2014 general elections.

"This nomination is a tribute to every single Kashmiri who has cried for democracy, and every single citizen of Jammu and Kashmir who laid down his life for the sake of secularism and democratic values. It is a symbol of hope and resilience in the face of oppression and suppression," the Congress leader said.

Karra, who took over as the Pradesh Congress Committee chief in August, replacing former minister Vikar Rasool Wani, said: "This is not just an election after 10 years, but a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape J&K's destiny for the next 100 years."

On the National Conference-Congress alliance, he said the pact demonstrates the strength and unity of the two parties against "dictatorship".

"Together, we will fight for the rights of the people, restoration of statehood, and protection of our unique identity. The BJP's policies of divide and rule and divisive politics will not succeed here. We will not be silenced or suppressed. We will rise and reclaim what is rightfully ours," Karra said.

The NC and the Congress have agreed on a seat-sharing arrangement for the 90 assembly seats, with the National Conference set to contest 51 of them and the Congress 32.

The CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) have been allocated one seat each, while both parties are having a "friendly contest" on five seats.

To a question about several independent candidates contesting the assembly polls, the Karra said the independents are being fielded "for fragmentation of votes."

"That is why it becomes more of a duty for the people to see what is right and wrong," he added.

Asked about BJP leader Ram Madhav alleging that ex-militants were campaigning for the NC and PDP candidates in the valley, Karra said Madhav should know "who are the people the BJP has recruited here?"

"Perhaps he has more information as well as experience about it," he also said.

On Union MoS Jitendra Singh's saying that the NC-Congress alliance has been formed to disturb the harmony in J-K, Karra said BJP has been flustered by the pact.

"They also form alliances nationwide, why are they troubled by this alliance?Perhaps they are seeing their dreams of last ten years getting shattered," he said.