By IANS,
New Delhi : The controversy over the move to transfer land to the Amarnath shrine trust affected the Congress performance in the state assembly election outcome, the party conceded Sunday.
“The Amarnath land row cost us dearly. There were problems in dealing with the issue. It was an emotive issue and it took place just before the elections. Had the land row not been there, we could have swept the polls,” Congess general secretary Prithviraj Chavan told reporters.
After the seven-phase elections, the vote count Sunday showed the Congress had won 10 seats and was leading in six. The National Conference emerged the single largest party but it would need a partner to rule the state.
On supporting any other party to form the next government, Chavan said: “Options are open. It will be a coalition government. We want a stable government in the state.”
He said that the Congress-led coalition government in the state, during the past three years, had launched several developmental works and the party wanted to continue these.
Chavan said the high polling percentage in the border state indicated that separatists could not have a say.
“We thank the people of Jammu and Kashmir and their participation in the elections proves their faith in democracy and our neighbours should learn a lesson from it,” Chavan said.