BJP Eyeing On Few Seats Of Kashmir; Modi, Shah To Chair Party’s Strategy For Upcoming Polls

Srinagar, Dec 13: Ahead of Parliamentary and Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP National President Amit Shah would hold a meeting with state BJP leaders to discuss the strategy for the polls.

A BJP leader told Kashmir News Service (KNS) said that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah would seek feedback from the state party leaders for the upcoming polls. “They would discuss how to go with Parliamentary and Assembly polls,” the BJP leader said. The Parliamentary and Assembly elections are due in April-May. The BJP leader said that they are eyeing on few seats in Kashmir. “There is likely to be pre-poll alliance with the Peoples Conference. But still the BJP wants to win few seats from Kashmir on its own,” the BJP leader said. The BJP leader said that BJP has made inroads into the Valley for the last few years. “We have so many panchayat and urban local bodies constituencies. We also managed to make the Mayor from the Peoples Conference,” the BJP leader said.

The BJP leader said that the Prime Minister and the BJP National President will also elicit opinion from the party leaders on whether to go for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly in April-May or defer the Assembly elections by a couple of months.

“The BJP’s preparations for the elections including retaining three Lok Sabha seats out of six it won in 2014 Lok Sabha elections and annex more will figure at the high level review meeting of the party. Similar will be the discussions on the Assembly elections as the party had won 25 seats in 2014 Assembly elections but now it wants to cross the figure of 30 though publicly the party will set the target of 44 i.e. majority mark,” the BJP leader said.

From Jammu and Kashmir, State BJP president, Ravinder Raina and General Secretary (Organizations) Ashok Koul are expected to attend the meeting.

This meeting will be joined by Ram Madhav, BJP General Secretary and party’s points man on Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Dr Jitendra Singh, Lok Sabha member from Jammu-Poonch, Jugal Kishore Sharma, Ravinder Raina, Ashok Koul and some other senior party leaders from the State.

The source said that a final decision vested with the Election Commission, which has to hold Assembly polls within six months of dissolution of the House. As the Assembly was dissolved on November 21, the elections have to be held before May 21, 2019.

According to sources, a date for visits of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to Jammu and Kashmir will be decided by the party leaders in coming days.

While Modi is scheduled to visit the State for laying foundation stone or inauguration of some projects under the Prime Minister’s Development Plan (PMDP) etc, Shah is likely to address the party workers meeting and hold deliberations with senior party leaders to discuss the strategy for Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.

“Political situation in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections including strategy of other major stakeholders like National Conference, PDP, Congress, People’s Conference and some small players, will also be discussed at the meeting,” the source said. (KNS)