NC Legislature Party Meeting Today to Discuss Government Formation with Congress

Srinagar, Oct 10: The National Conference (NC) Legislature Party is scheduled to hold a crucial meeting today to deliberate on the formation of the government in Jammu and Kashmir with its pre-poll ally, the Indian National Congress.

A communication has been sent to all Members of the Legislative Assembly of the NC, as well as the independent legislators who have expressed their intent to join the party. The meeting, set for the afternoon, will focus on electing the leader of the Legislature Party and discussing the next steps toward government formation in partnership with Congress. Additionally, discussions will cover the drafting of a Common Minimum Programme for the coalition government.

Observers from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) are also arriving in Srinagar today to preside over the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, where they will elect their leader and discuss government formation with the NC.

The Congress party has secured six seats, five from the Kashmir region and one from Jammu. Following the election of the Legislature Party leaders from both NC and Congress, the alliance partners will choose a joint leader, who will then be positioned to serve as the next Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters about the government formation, NC Vice President Omar Abdullah said, “The first step is today’s Legislative Party meeting. After that, there will be an alliance meeting to finalize the leader. The leader will then collect letters of support and approach Raj Bhawan to request the Lieutenant Governor (LG) to schedule a date for the swearing-in ceremony. We hope this will be done swiftly as the region has been without an elected government since 2018. It’s time to resume governance.”

Abdullah further added, “I expect the Congress party to hold their own meeting. Once we have the letters of support from both parties, the alliance will finalize the leadership and approach the LG with the necessary documentation. Once everything is in place, we will proceed to the Raj Bhawan to fix a date for the swearing-in ceremony.”

The meeting holds significance as it will set the tone for the coalition government, marking an end to the prolonged absence of an elected government in Jammu and Kashmir since 2018.