Ex-royal to take on Minister of State in PMO from Udhampur

Congress has reportedly nominated the member of the erstwhile Dogra Royal family Vikramaditya Singh to take on the Minister of State (MoS) in the PMO Dr Jitendra Singh in the prestigious Udhampur constituency of Jammu division. Former minister Raman Bhalla has been nominated from Jammu parliamentary seat.

Both Vikramaditya Singh and Raman Bhalla joined the meeting chaired by National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah at Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan in Jammu.

National Conference has entered into a pre-poll alliance with Congress and decided not to field any candidates from Jammu and Udhampur constituencies.

Vikramaditya, whose brother Ajatshatru Singh is the BJP leader and father Dr Karan Singh a senior Congress leader, had quit PDP to join the Congress.

Vikramaditya, the grandson of last Maharaja Hari Singh who signed the instrument of accession with the union of India, had joined the PDP on the invitation of former chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on the eve of 2014 assembly elections. It was touted as a feather in the PDP's cap and he was seen as the party's face in the Jammu region.

"The tie-up with the Congress is purely to keep the divisive forces at bay and in the larger interest of the nation, which is facing numerous challenges posed by elements inimical to the idea of India". Dr Farooq Abdullah said.

National Conference president said politics of divide and hate is detrimental to our unity and secular ethos and if not contained there is every apprehension of the country getting divided.

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