The Congress on Sunday announced it would contest the upcoming District Development Council elections in Jammu and Kashmir in partnership with the seven-party alliance campaigning for the restoration of Article 370.

However, the Congress left for another day the decision whether to formally join the alliance.

The seven-party People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration views the polls, beginning November 28, as a referendum on last year’s amendment of Article 370. Much, however, depends on whether the voters choose to boycott or participate in the elections.

Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Sunday met the leaders of the alliance at the home of their chairman, Farooq Abdullah.

Mir later told reporters his party had decided to join hands with the alliance for the elections to try and defeat those imposing “black laws” on the Union Territory.

“Like-minded parties have decided to go in for seat-sharing. There have been discussions over this for the past two or three days. Farooq sahib had called today’s meeting to give the final touches,” Mir said.

“By and large the meeting was satisfactory, although in politics a person is never 100 per cent satisfied.”

Mir said a discussion on formally joining the alliance would be held some other time.

“These are things to be decided later. First (things) first. It’s true and practical that the crux of all politics is elections,” he said.

“If we are joining hands to contest elections with an agenda in mind, I think we should focus on it and other things will naturally follow.”

The Congress’s central and Jammu and Kashmir leaderships have been sending conflicting signals about the party’s stand on Article 370.

A senior Valley Congress leader, Ghulam Nabi Monga, had on Friday claimed his party was part of the alliance and the battle for the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A.

Farooq too had claimed that the Congress was a part of the People’s Alliance. But it now appears that the tie-up is restricted to seat-sharing for the upcoming polls.

The alliance recently decided to contest the elections, stressing the need to prevent the BJP winning seats, and to demonstrate to the world that the demand for restoration of Article 370 had popular support.

All the parties in the alliance had earlier boycotted elections from 2018 onwards, anticipating the Centre’s plan to scrap the then state’s special status.