Congress top brass meets to pick candidates for J-K polls

New Delhi: The Congress’ Central Election Committee met here on Monday to finalise names of candidates for the upcoming assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, which the party is contesting in alliance with the National Conference.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, general secretary in-charge (organisation) K C Venugopal, Jammu and Kashmir unit chief Tariq Hameed Karra, Jammu and Kashmir screening committee chief Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and senior leader Salman Khurshid, among others, attended the meeting at the AICC headquarters here.

The National Conference and the Congress have finalised the seat-sharing formula and will contest 51 and 32 seats, respectively.

One seat each has been allotted to the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP).

Last week, the Congress had issued its first list of nine candidates for the three-phase assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, fielding party general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir from Dooru and former state unit chief Vikar Rasool Wani from Banihal.

The party also fielded Surinder Singh Channi from the Tral seat, Amanullah Mantoo from Devsar, Peerzada Mohammad Syed from Anantnag, Shaikh Zafarullah from Inderwal, Nadeem Sharief from Bhadarwah, Sheikh Riyaz from Doda and Pradeep Kumar Bhagat from Doda West.

The Jammu and Kashmir elections will be held in three phases — September 18, September 25 and October 1 — followed by counting of votes on October 8.