Breaking: BJP Unveils Powerful First List of Hopeful Candidates for Jammu And Kashmir Assembly Polls
Jammu and Kashmir will cast their votes in a three-phase Assembly election on September 19, 25, and October 1, with the results being declared on October 4. This marks the first such election since the region was stripped of its special status and bifurcated into Union Territories in 2019.
In preparation for the election to the 90 Assembly seats, the BJP released a list of 44 candidates but promptly withdrew it. A revised list is anticipated, as per BJP sources. Notably absent from the initial list were prominent figures such as Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina and former Deputy Chief Ministers Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta. The list did include Devendra Rana, Union minister Dr. Jitendra Singh’s brother, who recently switched allegiance from the National Conference. Among the initial candidates were two Kashmiri Pandits and 14 Muslims, as well as several former leaders from the Congress, National Conference, PDP, and Panthers Party who have joined the BJP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP chief JP Nadda oversaw the candidate selection at a crucial meeting in Delhi. The last Assembly election in 2014 saw the BJP win 25 seats, while the PDP emerged as the largest party with 28 seats. The National Conference won 15 seats, and Congress secured 12. Post-election, the BJP and PDP formed an unexpected coalition government.
This election pits the BJP against a tripartite opposition, including the PDP and a newly formed National Conference-Congress alliance. However, the alliance faces internal discord over seat-sharing. Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Salman Khurshid have been dispatched to Srinagar to resolve these issues, following meetings between Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and National Conference leaders Farooq and Omar Abdullah.
BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh, head of the party’s Jammu and Kashmir campaign, dismissed the opposition alliance, predicting it would collapse and suffer a significant defeat.
Original Story https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/bjp-announces-1st-list-of-candidates-for-jammu-and-kashmir-assembly-polls-6419174
Category :
Tags:
