BJP sets in motion preparation for Assembly polls
Reddy appointed Election Incharge for JK
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 17: In yet another indication towards holding Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP today appointed Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishen Reddy as Election Incharge for the UT while Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda and party general secretary (Incharge Organizations) BL Santosh will meet five senior leaders of the party’s J&K unit after June 21 to discuss prevailing situation, both security and political.
Nadda today appointed Election Incharge for four States/ UT including Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand. Last three States are scheduled to go to polls before the end of this year while no date has been fixed so far by the Election Commission of India for holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir though the Supreme Court has directed for conducting the Assembly polls before September 30, 2024.
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Reddy, who was connected with Jammu and Kashmir, first as the Union Minister of State for Home and then Tourism Minister, has been appointed as the Election Incharge for the UT. He is presently the Cabinet Minister for Coals and Mines.
Union Ministers Bhupendra Yadav and Ashwini Choubey were appointed Election Incharge and co-Incharge for Maharashtra while Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and ex-Chief Minister Tripura Biplav Kumar Deo have been appointed Election Incharge and co-Incharge for Haryana. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister and Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Chief Minister, have been appointed as Election Incharge and co-Incharge for Jharkhand.
BJP UT president Ravinder Raina said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have expressed commitment for holding Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and the BJP is ready for that. Now, the Election Commission of India has to take call, he added.
Raina said he was grateful to party national president JP Nadda for appointing very experienced firebrand BJP leader and Union Cabinet Minister G K Reddy as the Election Incharge for Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, as per the BJP leaders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda and BJP national general secretary (Incharge Organizations) BL Santosh will meet five senior leaders of the J&K unit after June 21 to discuss security and political situation of Jammu and Kashmir.
Five senior BJP leaders to be called for the meeting include Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, BJP UT chief Ravinder Raina, Ashok Koul (general secretary Organizations), Dr Narinder Singh, national secretary and Jugal Kishore Sharma, MP.
The meeting was scheduled to take place today but was deferred because of preoccupation of some of the national leaders. As now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Kashmir on June 20 and 21, the meeting is expected to take place anytime after June 21, the insiders said.
The meeting is likely to discuss both political as well security situation in Jammu and Kashmir including the conduct of Assembly elections in the UT.
The Prime Minister and the Home Minister in their election rallies in Jammu during Parliamentary polls had declared that the Assembly elections will be held shortly in Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar has also repeatedly announced that Assembly polls will be held in J&K following impressive turnout in the Parliamentary polls.
The Election Commission had recently asked non-recognised but registered parties to apply for their preferred election symbols.
Last Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in November-December 2014 when it was a full-fledged State.
Jammu and Kashmir has 90-member Assembly. Besides, there is a provision for nomination of two Women MLAs, two Kashmiri migrants, one of them a woman, and a Pakistan occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) refugee.
Twenty four seats (other than 90) have been reserved for PoJK.
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