Every seat in Jammu to be covered by one of top 4 leaders
nUnion Ministers, CMs, other top leaders to join canvassing
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be leading the BJP campaign in Jammu and Kashmir with their rallies starting by the end of August and lasting throughout the month of September for three-phase Assembly elections in the Union Territory.
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Top BJP leaders told the Excelsior that Modi will lead the BJP campaign by holding around 10 rallies in Jammu and Kashmir. However, Shah and Rajnath Singh will hold between 15 to 20 rallies while Nadda is likely to address 10-12 rallies.
Detailed schedule of the rallies is being worked out by a high-level national team of the BJP in consultations with the J&K BJP unit. The rallies will be held in such a way that all 43 Assembly constituencies in Jammu division, the core area of the BJP, are covered by at least one of the four top campaigners of the party.
“Rallies of the top four leaders are also planned in Kashmir,” they said, adding the BJP will forcefully contest the Assembly elections on almost all 47 seats of the Valley.
As of now, the BJP leaders said, the party proposed to contest all 90 Assembly seats on its own.
Union Minister G Kishen Reddy, Election Incharge Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh and BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh have been assigned the task of screening the candidates for 90 seats.
BJP UT chief Ravinder Raina has been camping in New Delhi and has already met Amit Shah, JP Nadda, BL Santosh, national general secretary (Organizations) and other senior leaders of the party to discuss election strategy, names of probable candidates and other issues pertaining to Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Apart from top four leaders of the BJP, several Union Ministers, Chief Ministers of the BJP ruled States and senior leaders of the party from different States will campaign for the BJP candidates across Jammu and Kashmir, the party leaders said.
The BJP high command has made it clear that the party will not be having pre-poll alliance with any political party and will go it alone on all 90 seats of Jammu and Kashmir.
Party leaders said the BJP campaign is expected to start by the end of this month and will continue throughout the September. First phase of elections are scheduled to be held on September 18, second phase on September 25 and third phase on October 1. Counting of votes will be held on October 4.
In 2014 elections, the BJP won 25 seats. However, with party rebel Pawan Gupta who won Udhampur seat as an Independent candidate returning to the BJP, the number had gone up to 26 out of then total 37 seats in Jammu division. Now, the Jammu region has 43 seats.
Jammu and Kashmir now has 90-seat Assembly as against previously 87. However, Ladakh which was third division of J&K and is now a UT, had four Assembly seats which reduced number to 83 while seven seats were increased-six in Jammu division and one in the Kashmir valley. Kashmir earlier had 46 seats.
There is also a provision for nomination of five MLAs in the UT Assembly including two Kashmir migrants (one of them a woman), two women and a Pakistan occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) refugee.
Twenty four seats in the J&K Assembly are reserved for PoJK.
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