National Desk
5 September
Sandeep Dhand Ludhiana
Jammu and Kashmir BJP General Secretary Ashok Kaul announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address three key election rallies in the region, two in Jammu division and one in Kashmir. The rallies are part of the BJP’s efforts to garner support in the upcoming assembly elections. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to release the BJP’s election manifesto in Jammu on September 6 during his two-day visit.
Kaul expressed confidence that the people of Kashmir trust the Narendra Modi-led government and will back the BJP in the elections. However, the BJP faces a strong challenge from the Congress and National Conference (NC), who have formed an alliance to contest the elections together. The alliance has decided to field NC candidates in 52 seats and Congress candidates in 31 seats, leaving two seats for CPI(M) in the Valley and the Panthers Party in Jammu division.
In addition, the alliance has agreed on a ‘friendly contest’ in five seats: Nagrota, Banihal, Doda, and Bhadarwah in Jammu division, and Sopore in the Valley. Jammu and Kashmir’s assembly has 90 seats, including nine reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and seven for Scheduled Castes (SC). The upcoming elections are expected to be a closely watched and competitive affair.