The National Conference received a shot in the arm on the day of Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, as the lone Awami Ittehad Party MLA, Sheikh Khursheed, announced to support the ruling party \u201cto keep the BJP out\u201d.<\/p>\n
Khursheed, the MLA from Langate in Kupwara district, said his party has decided to vote for the National Conference (NC) candidates, as polling for the four seats in the Union territory got underway in the Assembly complex on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have decided to vote against the BJP, and in favour of the NC candidates,\u201d Khursheed told reporters here.<\/p>\n
The Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) MLA is the brother of incarcerated Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla, Sheikh Abdula Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid.<\/p>\n
Khursheed said while his party has \u201cso many political differences\u201d with the NC, it is \u201ccompelled\u201d to support the ruling party.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe submitted some resolutions and Bills in the last Assembly session as well as in this session, but unfortunately, they were not accepted. However, given the present situation, we are compelled to vote for the NC to keep the BJP out. We are not voting for the NC because we love them, but only to keep the BJP away,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is obvious that we have to vote for the NC candidates to ensure the defeat of the BJP candidates,\u201d Khursheed added.<\/p>\n
The AIP MLA also said that had his party abstained from voting, it would have been NC\u2019s loss and BJP\u2019s gain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not concerned with NC\u2019s loss. Our aim is to keep the BJP away, and we want the party to lose the fourth seat as well,\u201d he said. (Agencies)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The National Conference received a shot in the arm on the day of Rajya Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, as the lone Awami Ittehad Party MLA, Sheikh Khursheed, announced to support the ruling party \u201cto keep the BJP out\u201d. Khursheed, the MLA from Langate in Kupwara district, said his party has decided […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,88],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5136","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jammu","8":"category-kashmir"},"yoast_head":"\n