Nadda’s North-Zone review meet on July 7
Only LS poll strategy may be discussed
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 30: BJP president JP Nadda will be chairing a meeting of North Zone State/UT leaders of the party in New Delhi on July 7 which from Jammu and Kashmir will be attended by Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh, party’s national general secretary Incharge J&K Tarun Chug, UT chief Ravinder Raina, Organizing Secretary Ashok Koul and Lok Sabha MP from Jammu Jugal Kishore Sharma.
Ladakh will be represented by Lok Sabha MP Jamyang Tsering Namgayal and UT chief Phunchok Stanzin.
BJP’s preparedness for 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the States where Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in December is on agenda, party insiders said.
While Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, which will have Assembly polls in December, are also part of North Zone States/UT along with Jammu and Kashmir, the Assembly elections preparedness is likely to come under review only in three States as no dates have been fixed as yet for such an exercise in Jammu and Kashmir, they said.
Nadda will review BJP’s Lok Sabha strategy and preparations for Assembly elections where they are due on July 6, 7 and 8 by dividing States/UTs into three Zones including North, West and East.
Ahead of three crucial meetings, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Council of Ministers at 4.30 PM on July 3. The meeting is expected to be lengthy as the Ministers will explain in detail their working. Modi is likely to discuss a series of issues with the Ministers.
Party insiders said only Lok Sabha elections are expected to figure in the meeting as far as Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh UTs are concerned as there has been no schedule for conduct of Assembly polls issued for the Union Territory of J&K while Ladakh is without a Legislature.
Jammu and Kashmir has five Lok Sabha seats and Ladakh one. Both of them were one single State when last Lok Sabha polls were held in April-May 2019 and the BJP had won three seats including Jammu-Poonch, Udhampur-Doda and Ladakh while all three seats from Kashmir division had gone to the National Conference.
The BJP has been eyeing three Lok Sabha seats in 2024 from Jammu and Kashmir as besides Jammu and Udhampur, it has pinned hopes on seat which has areas from Poonch, Rajouri and South Kashmir as the party was confident that Paharis will vote en block for the party after being granted ST status. It has also base among other communities in this constituency.
Ladakh has only one Lok Sabha seat which is presently held by the BJP and the party will go all out to retain it.
“Nadda is expected to take detailed feedback on party’s Lok Sabha election preparedness and devise strategy for winning four seats from the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh from the senior BJP leaders who will be attending the meeting,” the insiders said.
Apart from Lok Sabha polls, the BJP’s working will also be reviewed during day-long meeting of North Zone on July 7, they added.
Jammu and Kashmir is without an Assembly since June 2018 when the BJP had withdrawn support to Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP Government leading to imposition of Central rule in the erstwhile State. This month only, J&K had completed five years of the Central rule.
In Ladakh, the BJP has distanced itself from the demand for Statehood to the Union Territory which is being projected jointly by Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA).
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