Assembly elections to be historic in J&K, BJP will form govt: Ram Madhav

SRINAGAR: BJP election in-charge for J&K Assembly elections, Ram Madhav on Wednesday said that the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will prove to be historic adding that a new government will be formed under the leadership of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP leader also joined the party candidate Aijaz Hussain from Lal Chowk constituency in Balhama on the outskirts of Srinagar city as he went to file his nomination.

“This will prove to be a historic election. We have full faith that those families because of whom the people of the valley, Jammu have been going through a huge tragedy for the past 34 years, will be freed. We have full faith that a new leadership will emerge in Jammu and Kashmir,” Madhav said.

Ram Madhav said that the BJP will bring peace, harmony and development to Jammu and the parties that have contested the elections to bring back the old bad situation will be defeated.

“Those who want peace, who do not support terrorism at all, and who want development, such parties, and leaders will emerge in the Kashmir valley as well. The BJP will bring peace, harmony and development to Jammu. We will remind the people of J&K that the manifesto that has been brought to take us back to the old days and the old troubles has been brought by the NC, PDP and all the people who are openly fighting the elections with the help of militants,” he said.

“They have openly started campaigning for the NC and PDP candidates. The parties that have contested the elections to bring back the old bad situation will have to be defeated. A new government will be formed in this state under the leadership of BJP,” Madhav added.

Earlier on Monday, BJP released the fourth list of candidates for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections and fielded party unit chief Ravinder Raina from the Nowshera constituency.

The BJP has fielded Arif Raja from the Eidgah seat, Ali Mohammad Mir from the Khansahib seat, Zahid Hussain from the Chrar-i-Sharif seat and Vibodh Gupta from the Rajouri (ST) seat.

In its third list, the party fielded Murtaza Khan from Mendhar, Sunil Bhardwaj from Ramnagar (SC), Chowdhary Abdul Ghani from Poonch Haveli, Pawan Gupta from Udhampur West, Mohd Iqbal Malik from Thannamandi, and Baldev Raj Sharma from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, among others.

Polling in Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8. Jammu and Kashmir has 90 assembly constituencies, with 7 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 9 for Scheduled Tribes (STs).

As per the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible electors.

In the previous Assembly elections, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 25, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) won 15, and the Congress won 12.

These upcoming elections will be the first in Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370. (ANI)