STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: BJP on Tuesday announced five more candidates, including four Muslim faces, for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections while releasing its third list of candidates.
The BJP has so far declared 72 candidates out of a total of 87 seats in the State Assembly, of which 20 Muslims have been fielded.
While Abdul Rehman Lone will contest from Kupwara Constituency, Abdul Rashid Zargar will contest from Lolab, M.M War from Langate seat and Ghulam Hassan Zargar from the Kulgam seat.
The party has also fielded Nirmal Singh from Billawar Assembly Constituency.
The party’s Central Election Committee cleared the names of five more candidates for the State Assembly elections starting 25th November, Party General Secretary and CEC Secretary J.P Nadda said.
Buoyed with the party’s recent successes in Haryana and Maharashtra, the BJP is optimistic of performing well in the upcoming Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand as well.
The BJP has also chalked out a strategy for Jammu and Kashmir and is working in close coordination with smaller parties. The party is likely to carry along some moderate separatists in the Valley and may align with some of them after the polls.
The Assembly polls in the State will start from 25th November and will be held in five phases ending on 20th December. The results will be out on 23rd December.
Meanwhile, Congress also released a list of two candidates for assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The list, cleared by the Central Election Committee of the party and released by AICC General secretary Madhusudan Mistry, includes Jagdish Raj Spolia from Basohli seat and Surinder Singh Singhari from Jammu West.
In Jammu, the Parliamentary Board of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party has nominated Balwan Singh for Reasi, Shakeel Ahmad for Gool-Arnas and Balvinder Singh Jamwal for Basohli. Jagdev Singh Mian shall be covering candidate for Basohli. Bansi Lal Sharma Spokesman of JKNPP said that the party shall be contesting all seats for the Assembly in the 2nd Phase.