Srinagar: With voting for four vacant Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir scheduled for Friday, political activity has intensified across the Union Territory’s newly elected Assembly.

The National Conference (NC) and the Congress — partners in the I.N.D.I.A. bloc — are struggling to keep their alliance intact amid sharp differences that emerged just days before the crucial election.

The NC on Wednesday issued a three-line whip directing all its MLAs to vote for the party’s official candidates and refrain from abstaining or cross-voting. However, the Congress, already upset over what it termed “betrayal” by the NC for refusing to give it a safe seat, refused to attend a joint legislature party meeting convened by NC president Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday evening.

The four Rajya Sabh

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