Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR/ JAMMU, Sept 13: Congress Party today cracked down on the rebel candidates and issued them show cause notices for their revolt against their decision to contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir in alliance with the National Conference.
The alliance was stitched together by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, LoP Rahul Gandhi with NC president Farooq Abdullah and vice president Omar Abdullah. Later, a seat-sharing arrangement was also finalised by the senior leaders of both the parties.
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However, the alliance didn’t go down well with some party leaders and activists who wanted to contest the elections on the party ticket, forcing them to revolt and contest the elections as Independents.
Several leaders of the Congress are contesting as Independents against NC-Congress alliance candidates in the Kashmir valley and Jammu region.
In Srinagar, five Congress leaders including District president Imtiyaz Khan, general secretary Waseem Shalla, former SMC Corporator Asif Beigh and Manzoor Ahmad who is DDC member from Khonmoh, are contesting the polls as Independents.
Waseem Shalla has already resigned from the Congress party before filing his nomination papers. The show cause notices were issued against District president Ganderbal Sahil Farooq, Srinagar District president of Congress Imtiyaz Ahmad Khan who is in the fray as Independent from Eidgah, Asif Beg who is in the contest from Habba Kadal as Independent and Manzoor Ahmad who is also contesting from Srinagar as Independent.
One more Congress leader Omar Hafiz who is contesting from Zadibal Assembly constituency as Independent has not been issued show cause notice. However, Khan and Beg told Excelsior that they have received no notice from the party so far.
From Chhamb Assembly constituency of Jammu district, the Congress party has given mandate to the former Dy Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Tara Chand. From this seat, Congress leader Satish Sharma, son of former MP, Late Madan Lal Sharma is also contesting as Independent candidate. It has been reported that he too has been issued notice. Sharma, however, claimed that he has not received any such letter so far.
“JKPCC has taken strong notice of breach of alliance unity by various party leaders, who have filed their nomination papers from different Assembly segments as Independent candidates against the alliance spirit,” the JKPCC president Tariq Hameed Karra said in a statement.
The party has asked the rebel leaders to reply within three days, failing which strict disciplinary action would be initiated against them.
It is pertinent to mention here that a few NC leaders too have rebelled against the regional party by contesting as Independents against Congress candidates who are fielded as alliance candidates. Former NC legislator Irfan Shah is contesting as an Independent against alliance candidate and JKPCC chief Tariq Hameed Karra from the Central Shalteng seat. Dr Ghulam Nabi Bhat is contesting from the Tral Assembly constituency against alliance candidate Surinder Singh Channi.
A female NC leader from Bandipora, Dr Bilquees Mir, is contesting against alliance candidate Nizam-u-Din Bhat, who joined the party a few days ago after resigning from the Peoples Conference. Bhat was with the PDP since 2008 but resigned from the party after the abrogation of Article 370. However, the NC has not yet issued any show-cause notice to these leaders.
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