Srinagar: The National Conference received a timely boost on the day of Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir as the lone Awami Ittehad Party MLA, Sheikh Khursheed, announced he voted for NC candidates to thwart the BJP. Polling for the Union territory’s four Rajya Sabha seats got underway in the Assembly complex on Friday.
Sheikh Khursheed, the MLA from Langate in Kupwara district, told reporters that his party had decided to support the National Conference despite longstanding political differences.
Khursheed, who is the brother of incarcerated Baramulla MP Sheikh Abdula Rashid, said the AIP has repeatedly submitted resolutions and bills in the Assembly that were not accepted. Yet, given the present political arithmetic, his party felt compelled to back the NC to prevent the BJP from gaining ground.
The MLA said abstaining would have aided the BJP and conceded that his party’s support could prove decisive in the closely fought contest. He reiterated that the decision reflects tactical considerations aimed at shaping the broader political balance in the Union territory. [KNT]
