Veteran Congress leader and former union minister Saifuddin Soz, stating that his party had a firm grip in all the regions of Jammu and Kashmir, on Tuesday said that he will appeal to the people to vote for his party in the upcoming assembly polls in the state.
"I have toured all the areas in the state and I can see a situation that we hold a strong toehold in Kashmir, Ladakh and Jammu. We have decided to work hard and go to the people and appeal to them to vote for the Congress. This party alone can keep the state together. The integrity of the state can be guaranteed only because of the Congress party, because we are in all the three regions," Soz told the media.
Indicating that the Congress' manifesto will be released soon, Soz added that his party will not compromise on the issue of balanced development of all three regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
"Our manifesto will be released very soon. We will give an idea that we stand for balanced development in the state, and on that question we shall have any compromise and democracy has to trickle down at the grassroots level. The Congress party will do everything possible to do that," he said.
The assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in five phases - on November 25, December 2, December 9, December 14 and December 20. The counting of votes will be held on December 23.