Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 15: The BJP today released fourth list of 16 candidates for Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, which included three seats of Jammu region-Gandhi Nagar, Samba (Reserve) and Darhal but didn’t name its candidate for Nagrota seat.
Party sources attributed delay in announcement of candidate for Nagrota seat to finding a suitable nominee to take on National Conference strongman Devender Singh Rana, who is considered to be a potential candidate for the seat. Nagrota is the only seat left in 37 Assembly constituencies of Jammu region, where the BJP has not named its candidate so far.
Party sources said the names under consideration for Nagrota seat included Nand Kishore Sharma, brother of State BJP chief Jugal Kishore Sharma, who had vacated the seat after being elected to Lok Sabha, Chander Mohan Sharma and Ajatshatru Singh. The BJP has initially rejected the name of Nand Kishore on the ground that its campaign against dynastic rule of NC and PDP in the State will be diluted if Nand was given the ticket.
However, Jugal Kishore has renewed his appeal to party president Amit Shah for second thought on the name of Nand Kishore on the ground that he was grass root workers in Nagrota. Chander Mohan Sharma is considered to be another important option of the BJP for Nagrota.
The BJP has fielded its general secretary Kavinder Gupta from Gandhi Nagar seat against Congress heavyweight Raman Bhalla, Cabinet Minister for Housing. Kavinder was denied mandate for Jammu West but not has been fielded in Gandhi Nagar. Kavinder had been elected Mayor of Jammu Municipal Corporation for three times.
BJP has given mandate to Thakur Puran Singh, who had recently joined the party after quitting Congress, from Darhal seat. Singh was Minister in 2002-2008 Government. He had won Darhal seat as an Independent candidate in 2002.
The BJP has given Samba (Reserve) seat to Dr Devinder Manyal, who has taken retirement from the services to join the politics.
For the 87-seat Assembly, the BJP has till now announced its nominees for 70 constituencies out of which 31 are Muslims.
After getting clearance from the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC), the fourth list of candidates was announced which includes names of Mir Mushtaq Navshari for Uri, Draksha Andrabi for Sonawar, Jubair Nazir for Batamaloo, Fayaz Rahat for Badgam, Abdul Rasheed Bandey for Beerwah and Abdul Rahman Chopon for the Chrari Sharief constituency.
Other candidates who’s names were declared in the list are Sardar Avtar Singh (Tral), Abdul Mohd Wagey (Pampore), Javed Ahmad Qadri (Shopian), Sohil Malik (Doru), Khursheed Ahmed Malik (Kokernag), Khalid Ahmed Dar (Shangus) and P N Pandita (Bijbehara).
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