NC, Congress finalise seat-sharing formula for J&K Assembly polls

Following hectic negotiations, the National Conference (NC) and the Congress Monday agreed on a seat-sharing formula for the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, with the parties set to contest 51 and 32 seats respectively.

The alliance partners also allotted one seat each to the CPI(M) and the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), they announced at a joint press conference at NC president Farooq Abdullah's residence here after day-long negotiations.

According to their seat-sharing formula, the NC will contest 51 seats in J&K and the Congress 32, the leaders of the two parties said.

They also announced that a "friendly contest" would be held on five seats of the Union territory.

However, J&K Congress president Tariq Hamid Qarra said the contest would take place in a cordial and disciplined manner.

The leaders said the list of seats each party will be contesting, as well as the names of the candidates, will be issued in due course.