NC-Cong ties survive RS poll

All’s well that ends well. The ruling National Conference-Congress alliance in Jammu and Kashmir has won all the four Rajya Sabha seats in the state, thanks to the last-minute hard work by Congress leaders Prithviraj Chavan and former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to ensure the victory of NC leaders Farooq Abdullah and M Shafi ‘Uri’. Initially, Abdullah had been fuming over the fact that the Congress got Azad and Saifuddin Soz elected unopposed. He had felt betrayed by the Congress for leaving the NC stalwarts to fend for themselves against two political non-entities, who were in contest for the remaining seats. Finally, a day before the polling, Chavan and Azad rushed to Jammu, where they managed to win over some Independents and Panthers Party votes.