BJP shares first list of 44 candidates for Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections
PTC News Desk: On Monday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its initial list of 44 candidates for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, which will see elections to the 90-member Assembly. Among the prominent names on the list is Devender Singh Rana, the brother of Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office (MoS PMO) Jitendra Singh, who will contest from Nagrota.
Narinder Singh Raina, BJP’s Punjab co-incharge, will stand for election from RS Pura in Jammu South. The party’s list includes candidates for all three phases of the polls: 15 candidates for the first phase, 10 for the second phase, and 19 for the third phase.
The BJP has selected candidates for several constituencies in Kashmir, including Pampore, Shopian, Anantnag West, and Anantnag, in addition to its traditional strongholds in the Jammu region.
Key candidates announced are:
- Arvind Gupta for Jammu West
- Yudhvir Sethi for Jammu East
- Arshid Bhat for Rajpora
- Javed Ahmad Qadri for Shopian
- Mohd. Rafiq Wani for Anantnag West
- Advocate Syed Wazahat for Anantnag
- Sushri Shagun Parihar for Kishtwar
- Gajay Singh Rana for Doda
The BJP’s Central Election Committee finalized the list during a meeting held on Sunday evening.
The Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will take place in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, with the counting of votes scheduled for October 4.
In the previous Assembly elections of 2014, before Jammu and Kashmir was reorganized into Union Territories, the BJP had won 25 seats. The party is now making significant efforts to maintain its dominance, especially in Jammu, where it has traditionally been strong. This comes amid a resurgence of the Congress party, which has formed an alliance with the National Conference.
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