Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge Arrive in Srinagar for Key Meetings Ahead of Polls

GG News Bureau
Srinagar, 22nd August. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday for a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. The visit aims to assess the party’s preparations for the upcoming assembly elections in the Union Territory and explore the possibility of a pre-poll alliance with the National Conference.

Upon their arrival, the Congress leaders were greeted with a warm welcome by party activists and supporters, who lined up outside the airport. The enthusiasm of the crowd briefly halted Gandhi’s vehicle on the airport road, creating some tense moments for the security personnel.

The two leaders’ visit includes crucial meetings related to the three-phased assembly elections starting on September 18. Although no official meetings were scheduled for Wednesday, the leaders plan to engage in extensive discussions with party members from 10 districts in the Kashmir valley on Thursday. These meetings will be followed by a possible interaction with the media.

Additionally, Gandhi and Kharge are expected to meet with the National Conference leadership to discuss a potential alliance, according to party sources. However, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president, Tariq Karra, clarified that the visit was planned prior to the election announcement and is primarily focused on interacting with party workers.

The Congress leaders will travel to Jammu after their meetings in Srinagar to continue discussions with cadres from 10 districts in the Jammu region. Their visit is intended to gather feedback from grassroots-level workers as the region prepares for its first assembly elections in a decade.

The possibility of a pre-poll alliance remains open, with Karra stating that the Congress is willing to collaborate with any forces or parties that oppose the BJP. Meanwhile, the BJP has urged Rahul Gandhi to clarify his party’s stance on Article 370 and Article 35A during his visit.

BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh, the party’s organisational in-charge for the Union Territory, remarked that Gandhi’s visit will allow him to witness the “peace and development” brought about by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. He also accused the Congress, National Conference, and PDP of fostering separatism and terrorism in the region before the BJP’s leadership took charge in 2014.