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New Delhi: Congress is likely to fall back on former chief minister Gulam Nabi Azad to steer it to power in Jammu and Kashmir.
Federal Minister Professor Saifuddin Soz, who is also the state unit president of the party, has proposed Azad's name to head the campaign committee for the state assembly polls likely to be held next month.
The campaign committee will be authorised to finalise alliance as well the list of prospective candidates.
The party has, however, fallen short of naming Azad as its chief ministerial candidate in line with the official stand that it is undemocratic since it is right of the lawmakers to elect their leader.
The Congress is facing a real problem in selecting its ally in the state. While its alliance on paper continues with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which withdrew support to the Azad government leading to dissolution of the assembly in July this year, the party is also in talk with the National Conference.
Azad is said to favour National Conference as PDP is seen as unpredictable.
Azad has been in political wilderness ever since he quit as the state chief minister on July 7 and has been camping in New Delhi hoping to get back to national politics. He had to quit as a federal minister to take over as chief minister in 2005 much against his wishes since he sees himself as a national leader.
Besides the fact that he is the most recognised face of the party in the strife-torn state, Azad is also seen as a lucky mascot of the party since he had in the past guided the party to victories in several states
The Election Commission is likely to clarify whether it will go ahead with holding polls in the state next month in view of reservations being expressed by several parties that the situation is not conducive.
Terrorist killings: where were they from?
The killing of two suspected terrorists in Kashmir this week has led to three versions. While officials in Kashmir say the two were from Kerala, intelligence sources in Delhi believe only one was from the state. The Kerala Police is denying all links.
The only certainty is that the two terrorists killed in Kashmir's Lolab Valley in Kupwara district, about 130km from the summer capital Srinagar, were from the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Kashmir's Inspector General of Police B Srinivas said two militants, who he maintained were from Kerala, were killed in separate encounters earlier this week.
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