BJP to contest J&K Assembly elections alone

Jammu: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared on Sunday that it will compete independently in the J&K Assembly elections and will form no pre-election coalition with any other political parties. In an interview with local media, Ravinder Raina, the head of the BJP for J&K, stated this.

He said, “BJP will fight the Assembly elections in J&K on its own without any pre-poll alliance with any other political party. We will not form any pre-poll alliance with any party. However, we are talking to some independent candidates. BJP can support some independent candidates in 8 to 10 Assembly seats where we believe the independents can win with our support,” Raina said.

The BJP manifesto and mandate committee meeting is being held here today.

Senior party leaders, including the election in charge of J&K elections, G. Kishan Reddy; the national general secretary and in charge of J&K affairs, Tarun Chugh; and Ashish Sood are also attending the meeting.

Talking to reporters, Tarun Chugh said, “Narendra Modiji has put Jammu and Kashmir on the path of development and trust. Every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir is receiving medical insurance worth ₹5 lakh. New milestones of development are being achieved in every sector, in every district, and everyday life. Ring roads are being constructed, bridges are being built, water is reaching the homes of the poor, and free ration is being provided."

He said that young and energetic leaders are joining the BJP, IANS reported.

The National Conference (NC) has already announced that it will fight the Assembly elections without any pre-poll alliance. NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah has announced that he will fight the elections. His son and former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah has said he won’t fight the Assembly elections as long as J&K is a union territory. The same decision has been announced by the PDP president, Mehbooba Mufti.

Omar Abdullah, however, kept a window open for himself to join the Assembly polls by saying that he was under pressure from his party cadre and leaders to review his decision and contest the polls.

Reacting to this Tarun Chugh, said that Omar Abdullah was saying until recently that he would not contest the elections, but seeing the possibility of a severe defeat, he is making such statements.

Chug also commented on Omar Abdullah's statement regarding Article 370, saying that he was in a state of panic. "The decision was made in the country's highest court, and the judiciary has upheld it," Chugh said.

He likened Abdullah's aspirations to "Mungerilal ke sapne (daydreams)".

He stated that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have already learned their lesson, having been subjected to negative leadership for the past seven decades and being chained by the Abdullah family’s politics, which has snatched away the rights of the people.

He further claimed that the Abdullah, Mehbooba, and Nehru families kept Jammu and Kashmir in chains. They were the same people who did not want Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's constitution to be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. Chugh added that it was under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's constitution was applied here, freeing Jammu & Kashmir from the chains of Article 370 and 35A.