NC Calls Allies for Strategy Meeting Ahead of J&K Assembly Session and Rajya Sabha Vote

Overview

• NC has convened an evening strategy meeting in Srinagar and invited Congress, CPI(M) MLA Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami, and five independents who back the government, a day before the Assembly session.
• Congress Legislature Party leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir confirmed receipt of the invitation, as PCC chief Tariq Hamid Karra called an emergency meeting of party MLAs before consulting the national leadership.
• Strains in the ruling alliance persist after NC declined to offer Congress a safe Rajya Sabha seat and instead proposed a riskier berth and the Nagrota Assembly seat, both of which Congress rejected.
• Reported vote counts indicate the BJP has 28 MLAs to the NC-led bloc’s 24 for the fourth Rajya Sabha seat, placing leverage with independents and smaller parties.
• The PDP, holding three MLAs, has not revealed its approach to the vote, while the BJP has fielded J&K unit president Sat Sharma for the contested seat.