The National Conference and the Congress on Wednesday sealed an alliance for three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving the state’s three remaining parliamentary constituencies for a “friendly contest” in a deal likely to boost the prospects of both.

The NC, according to the deal, will not field any candidate for the Jammu and Udhampur Lok Sabha constituencies in the Jammu region.

The Congress will not put up a candidate in Srinagar.

The “friendly contest” will be in Anantnag and Baramulla — both in the Valley — and in Ladakh.

The two parties had formed an alliance in 2014 too but didn’t win any seat. The BJP and Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party — future partners in government though their alliance has since collapsed — had then won three seats each.

The BJP had won from Jammu, Udhampur and Ladakh and the PDP from Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag — largely because of a strong anti-incumbency sentiment against the NC-Congress government that was then in power in the state.

Sources said the Congress sniffs a chance in Jammu this time with support from the NC and also because the Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan, led by former BJP leader Lal Singh, has entered the fray, which might split the Hindu vote.

Hindus account for two-thirds of the electorate in Jammu and had voted overwhelmingly for the BJP in 2014. Lal Singh was a minister in the PDP-BJP government but was forced to resign after he joined a rally defending the rapists of a minor girl in Kathua last year. He has since been campaigning for a CBI probe into the rape and murder, which was turned down by then chief minister Mehbooba.

The Congress hopes the NC’s support would help prevent a split in the region’s Muslim vote.

NC president Farooq Abdullah, the party’s candidate from Srinagar, and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad announced the alliance at a media conference in Jammu, weeks after hectic parleys that had seen the regional outfit insist on the three Valley seats. The Congress had to rush veteran leader Azad, which led to Wednesday’s announcement.

An NC leader said the Congress might field “weak” candidates in Baramulla and Anantnag, the two Valley seats where the allies would have a friendly contest.

State Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir, who was tipped to be his party’s candidate for Anantnag, said his name still figured in the list of candidates but the leadership would take the final decision on who would contest from the seat.

“My name is on the panel (for Anantnag) but there are two to three more people,” Mir told The Telegraph.

“If party asks me to contest, I will, but if it wants to spare me for the Assembly polls I will…. It is not necessary that I alone should contest.”

Azad said friendly contest means the two parties would not go hard against each other and at the same time “make a joint effort to defeat the opponents”.

“Whether they (the NC) win or we, it will make no difference because the seats will add to the national kitty,” the Congress veteran told reporters.

“Our effort in two Valley seats will be to defeat the third party and not each other. There won’t be cut-throat competition between the two.”

Azad said the BJP would have benefited had the Congress and the NC contested separately.