Denied 'safe seat' by NC, Cong opts out from contesting RS polls in J&K
Srinagar (PTI): The president of the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee, Tariq Hamid Karra, on Sunday said his party will not contest the October 24 Rajya Sabha elections to four seats in the Union territory in view of alliance partner National Conference refusing it a 'safe seat'.
Addressing mediapersons after a marathon meeting of party leaders here, Karra said it has been unanimously agreed that the Congress will not contest the Rajya Sabha polls.
The Congress central leadership sought one of the two Rajya Sabha seats that are going to polls separately but National Conference offered the party one of the two seats, which are going to polls under a common notification, Karra said.
"Keeping this in mind, all the participants (at the meeting) were of the opinion that seat four is not safe like seat one or two. It was unanimously decided that we will not put up our candidate for seat number four. We will leave it to our alliance partners to see what they think about that," Karra said.
"Since the safe seat was not offered to us, we don't want to contest on seat four," he added.
National Conference has already named its three candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls, indicating that it will use its strength in the Assembly to ensure all three emerge victorious.
While all three National Conference candidates are assured of victory even without the support of alliance partners, the fourth candidate of the ruling alliance will need every anti-BJP vote to ensure a clean sweep.
The three MLAs of the PDP, one each from People's Conference, Awami Ittehad Party and AAP will have to vote for the ruling party candidate to ensure victory on the fourth seat.
Karra said a marathon discussion took place about the working of the alliance, the Rajya Sabha polls and the by-elections to two Assembly seats -- Budgam and Nagrota.
"Some legislators had grievances with governance and administrative issues but today's meeting was about Rajya Sabha polls," he said.
The PCC chief said the bypolls in Jammu and Kashmir were also discussed during the meeting.
"Some points were put forward by the leaders. We will open our channels with the NC and talk to them. The inputs from our members will be sent to our central leadership for guidance," he added.
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Will continue to keep tab on development work in Bihar: Nitish to JD(U) MLAs
Patna (PTI): JD(U) president Nitish Kumar on Monday told party legislators that he will continue to keep a tab on the development work in Bihar despite having given up the chief minister's post a week ago.
Kumar addressed a meeting of the legislative party at 1, Anney Marg, which is the official residence of the chief minister and which the JD(U) supremo, now a Rajya Sabha MP, had occupied for nearly two decades.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, "Our party leader has said that except for sessions of Parliament, which would require his presence in Delhi, he will spend his maximum time in Bihar."
"Nitish Kumar told us that he will ensure that the good work done while he was in power continues under the new government, in which the JD(U) is an important partner. To keep a tab, he will tour the state in due course," Neeraj Kumar said.
The JD(U) spokesperson was asked about speculations that the meeting had been convened to decide on the role to be assigned to Nishant, the party supremo's son, who joined the JD(U) last month, but has declined to accept a ministerial berth in the Samrat Choudhary government.
"There is no confusion about the role of Nishant, who has been accepted by the party as the leader of the future. In any case, there was no discussion on him today," Neeraj Kumar said.
Nitish Kumar has been authorised by the legislators to decide on choosing the legislative party leader, he added.
Among those present at the meeting were Union minister and former JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan' and Deputy Chief Ministers Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav.
Interestingly, don turned politician Anant Kumar Singh, who represents Mokama assembly seat, claimed after the meeting that MLAs were asked by the supreme leader to try and win "200 seats in the next elections".
"Nitish Kumar ji told us that he will now be more easily available for party workers and general public. He also said that he will extensively tour the state and asked us to work hard so that the party wins 200 seats in the next elections", said Singh, who is often in news for putting his foot in the mouth.
The Bihar assembly is 243-strong and the JD(U)'s current tally is 85, four less than ally BJP, which is the single largest party.
The JD(U)'s best-ever performance was in 2010, when it had contested 142 seats and won 115 of these. It was also the highest tally for any single party since Bihar's truncation in 2000, until when Jharkhand was part of the state and assembly had 324 seats.
