Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 10: The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting here tomorrow morning would set the agenda of the Congress for the National Conference-Congress Co-ordination Committee meeting, scheduled to be held on November 12 to discuss among other issues the election to four seats of MLCs from Panchayat quota, which would be held on December 3.
The CLP would meet at 10 am tomorrow. PCC (I) president, Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz, who has called the meeting, would preside over it.
Reliable sources said some senior office bearers of the Congress, who were not members of the CLP, have also been invited to the meeting to discuss party strategy for four seats of the Legislative Council.
“There were two opinions within the Congress. One that the Congress should stake claim for two seats of Jammu division and leave two seats of Kashmir division for its ally, the National Conference. The other opinion was that Congress and National Conference should contest one seat each in both the divisions’’, sources said, adding tomorrow’s crucial meeting of the party would take a decision on it.
On the basis of CLP decision, Prof Soz would put Congress view point in the Coordination Committee meeting, which would also be chaired by him, on November 12.
Sources said the controversy surrounding land encroachment case of PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din, which has further divided the party, could figure in the meeting. Legislative Council Chairman, Amrit Malhotra, who belonged to the Congress, had constituted the House Committee to probe charges of very serious nature of forest land encroachment by Taj. However, some Congress MLCs including Medical Education Minister RS Chib had opposed constitution of the House Committee by Mr Malhotra.
Sources said the CLP would also discuss the percentage of reservations in Block Development Councils and early holding of BDC and Urban Local Bodies elections.
Some of the CLP members were also planning to raise the issue of taking back the Congress portfolios of Works and Education, which were presently held by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Prof Soz today said that the issue of deciding a joint strategy for fighting the Legislative Council elections will be discussed during the Co-ordination Committee meeting of National Conference and Congress on Tuesday. He said discussions on conducting the Block Development Council (BDC) elections would also be held during the meeting.
The CC comprised six members headed by Soz, with three other members from the National Conference and two from the Congress.
Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma are the two other members from the Congress while as Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar and Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan are the members from the National Conference.
Meanwhile, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) patron, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today convened a meeting of the party core group at his residence to discuss the party’s strategy for contesting the Legislative Council elections, sources said. They said the PDP is contemplating to contest from all the four seats including the two seats in Jammu region.
In another interesting turn of events, the much talked about ‘Third Front’ in the State politics is also fielding its candidates for the LC seats to be voted by around 33,000 Panchayat members across the State.
People’s Democratic Front (PDF) chairman, Hakim Yasin said the parties in the ‘Third Front’ would field their candidates for fighting the elections.
“We will fight the elections and field common candidates with 2014 elections in view. We will not repeat our mistakes”, Yasin said.
Pertinently, he had earlier rued the fact that the smaller parties did not contest the 2008 elections jointly, calling it a historical blunder.
According to a KNS report, PDF chairman Hakim Yasin, CPI (M) state secretary M Y Tarigami and DPN President and Agriculture Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir held a meeting yesterday to discuss the issue of fighting the elections jointly. “They have decided to contest the elections on their own”, the sources said.
Political activities, across the spectrum are heating up at different levels with the parties trying to grab maximum vote share from among the Panchs and Sarpanchs.
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