Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], October 11 : Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Friday acknowledged that both Congress and the National Conference (NC) struggled to make an impact in Jammu and curb the BJP's influence.
Mir was discussing the results of the recent Jammu and Kashmir elections, where he said the main reason Congress allied with NC was to challenge the BJP in its dominant areas.
"The tough fight was in Jammu, where NC could win only two to three seats and didn't succeed. We joined the alliance to stop the BJP in its stronghold, but we too failed - neither the NC nor Congress could do anything there," he said.
Mir also emphasised that the priority and matter of utmost importance is the restoration of the union territory's statehood.
The Congress leader said, "The government that will be formed, its priority will be the restoration of statehood. If the PM restores the statehood without any demand, his goodwill will be created, as he is a man of commitment, as promised during the election."
He also highlighted the alliance's success in the Kashmir Valley, and added, "If you see, proportionately, we did better in the Kashmir Valley, which means Congress leaders influence Kashmir. It's a different thing that NC was contesting for more seats and hence they got more mandate in the valley."
On Thursday, National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah thanked the people of the union territory for giving the NC-Congress alliance the mandate to govern Jammu and Kashmir and highlighted the priorities of his party.
He expressed hope that they would be treated fairly by the Union government and that discussions on the restoration of statehood could begin soon.
"Our priority is to address all the issues faced by the people here. There are a lot of problems that we need to resolve, and we hope the central government treats us well and we restore statehood. The restoration of Article 370 will take time, but our first task is the restoration of statehood. Along with that, I hope they (the central government) will support us in every way because Jammu and Kashmir is the crown of India. If the crown shines, then India shines. I also hope that our MLAs will walk the right path and work towards these goals," the NC chief told ANI.
He reiterated that while the restoration of Article 370 might take longer, the immediate priority was statehood.
"The restoration of Article 370 will take time because we have to approach the courts, but our priority is restoring statehood so that work can proceed. Today, Omar (Abdullah) has been made the leader, and we will soon talk to Congress to decide when to take the oath. After that, cabinet ministers will be appointed. Since we are currently a Union Territory, ministers cannot be appointed right now, but once statehood is restored, the powers of the ministers will increase," he added.
He further urged the Union government to provide maximum support to the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, highlighting the region's strategic importance as it shares borders with nuclear powers. "J-K shares borders with atomic powers like Pakistan and China. The Centre needs to realise this. I hope we receive full support for administering the UT, for its development, and addressing the difficulties faced by people here," he said.
The NC's legislature party in a 'unanimous' decision picked party Vice President, Omar Abdullah, as its leader.
Speaking about his election, Omar Abdullah, president of JKNC, said, "There was a meeting of the National Conference's Legislative Party, and the Legislative Party decided on its leader. I am deeply grateful to the National Conference legislators for reposing faith in me, trusting me, and giving me the chance to go to Raj Bhavan and stake a claim to form the government."
This was the first election in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 and the bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories.