Political makeover in Jammu, Kashmir

The political and electoral scene in India's Jammu and Kashmir state is set to look different with ruling National Conference and Congress party having decided to snap their uneasy alliance and contest the coming elections to state legislature separately.
However, the two parties will continue their coalition government till the fresh elections due later this year. The tenure of the present government in the state headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of National Conference is till January 5 next.
"We wish to have a clear mandate for having our own government and we will be contesting all the 87 assembly seats," Congress general secretary Ambika Soni  told reporters in Jammu on Sunday after the party's two-day interaction with state-level leaders following its debacle in recent parliamentary elections.
Minutes after Soni and her senior Congress colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad and Saifuddin Soz announced the party will fight the elections alone, Omar said he had informed Congress president Sonia Gandhi about his party's decision to snap ties as early as 10 days ago, underlining that the NC wanted to end the coalition and not Congress.
He said he explained the reasons to Sonia for going alone “but also told her I wouldn't be making a public announcement because I didn't want to look opportunistic”.