The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has intensified its campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by announcing its fourth list of candidates. This list, released on Monday, includes six candidates who will be contesting in the second phase of polling. With this announcement, the BJP has now nominated a total of 51 candidates, including 14 for the Kashmir Valley.
Among the notable names in the fourth list is Ravinder Raina, the J&K unit chief, who has been fielded from the Nowshera constituency. Other prominent candidates include Er. Aijaz Hussain (Lal Chowk), Arif Raja (Edigah), Dr. Ali Mohammad Mir (Khansahib), Zahid Hussain (Chrar-i-Sharief), and Vibodh Gupta (Rajouri).
It’s noteworthy that the BJP has yet to open an account in the Kashmir Valley during Assembly elections. The party has also chosen not to nominate several senior leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh and ex-ministers Sat Paul Sharma, Sham Lal Choudhary, and Priya Sethi, in any of the lists released so far.
To spearhead the party’s campaign, the BJP has appointed former general secretary Ram Madhav and Union minister G Kishan Reddy as in-charges for the upcoming Assembly elections in the Union Territory.
Meanwhile, the Congress also announced its list of candidates for the second phase of the Assembly elections. The list includes prominent figures like Tariq Hameed Karra, who was recently appointed as the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee chief. Other notable candidates include Mumtaz Khan (Reasi), Bhupender Jamwal (Mata Vaishno Devi), Iftikhar Ahmed (Rajouri), Shabbir Ahmed Khan (Thannamandi), and Mohammad Shahnawaz Choudhary (Surankote).
The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has a 90-member Assembly. The elections will be conducted in three phases, scheduled for September 18, 25, and October 1. These elections will mark the first Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir since the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019. The outcome of these elections will be crucial for the political landscape of the region and will be closely watched by both national and international observers.
