INDIA bloc uncertain on J-K polls: AAP may go solo; Cong open for tie-up

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With just a month left for the much-awaited assembly elections in Jammu-Kashmir, all eyes are on whether the Congress-led INDIA alliance will present a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or take solo bids on the polls. On Wednesday (August 21), Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Imran Hussain said that the party has decided to fight the elections with full strength. 

“The Aam Aadmi Party will contest the elections in Jammu and Kashmir with full strength. I appeal to the people here that they have given a chance to all the parties, this time they should give a chance to the Aam Aadmi Party,” Hussain told media reporters, without once naming the INDIA bloc or any associated discussions over the alliance.

Assembly elections in Jammu-Kashmir are scheduled from September 18 to October 1 in three phases. The counting of votes will be done on October 4.

Congress' exploring alliance in J-K polls?

On Wednesday, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party President Mallikarjun Kharge are also set to embark on a two-day visit to J-K to check election preparations.

Notably, on Monday, J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra had said that the party is open to talks to strike a "respectable alliance.” However, he noted that the alliance would have a different criteria compared to the Lok Sabha elections.

INDIA bloc was formed in June 2023 to bring down the BJP in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. While that did not happen, the Opposition grouping of nearly two dozen non-BJP parties managed to prevent the saffron party from scoring a full majority on its own. The most impact of the alliance was observed in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP’s tally dropped to half compared to its 2019 Lok Sabha seat score of 63. 

Regional INDIA bloc parties in J-K

In Jammu-Kashmir, the regional INDIA parties are the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference party and the Mehbooba Mufti-led Peoples Democratic Party. To be clear, these parties did not contest the Lok Sabha polls together and pitied their candidates against each other in three of the five constituencies. Notably, neither party contested the Jammu seats -- Jammu and Udhampur, which were unsuccessfully fought by the Congress.

On Monday, Congress’ Karra also said that both the regional parties have approached the Congress for an alliance in the coming polls.