Congress to chalk out Jammu and Kashmir strategy today

NEW DELHI: The Congress leadership will hold a meeting in Srinagar on Tuesday with about 100 party functionaries, including its Jammu and Kashmir MLAs, to discuss its future plan in the state, even as AICC on Monday reiterated its demand for early elections in J&K.

After a pre-scheduled meeting of the Manmohan Singh-led Congress’ policy-planning group for J&K — held in the backdrop of a few reports claiming that the party and PDP are mulling a joint bid for government formation — Ambika Soni, AICC general secretary in-charge for J&K, said no such topic figured during the meeting and the party’s preference for early poll has been well-stated.

Many leaders, during the meeting, lamented that “the strategic gains made through political initiatives in J&K during the 10 years of UPA regime has been completely reversed” during the four years of NDA rule.


Soni said the governor’s rule can only be an interim arrangement before the resumption of pollical process, including elections. “The issue of trying to form a government in J&K with PDP or other parties is not on the agenda for now,” Soni said.

Representatives of the Congress group, which had earlier visited Jammu and Srinagar, will soon visit Leh and Kargil to meet people.