SRI NAGAR: The BJP will contest all 87 Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir and is likely to announce a Muslim face as the party’s chief ministerial candidate, senior party leader Fayaz Ahmad Bhat said.
“The BJP will fight all 87 constituencies in the Assembly polls, which are scheduled to be held later this year,” Bhat said.
He said the BJP was gaining acceptability in Kashmir and many new faces had joined the party recently.
Dr Hina Bhat, daughter of former Congress and National Conference MLA Mohammad Shafi Bhat joined the party recently.
The state unit of the JD(U) has merged with the BJP. “We are becoming stronger with each passing day and are hopeful of forming the next government in the state,” Bhat said.
He said the party’s working committee would meet soon and the first list of candidates for the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will be released before July 29.
On who will be the party’s chief ministerial candidate, Bhat said, “It has not been decided yet.”
However, he was quick to add that since J&K was a Muslim-majority state, the party’s pick would be a Muslim.
“It has to be a Muslim face and the party has a broad vision in this regard,” he said adding they won’t be having any objection in this regard.Bhat said top BJP leaders including union ministers would campaign for the party’s candidates in J&K.
“Party leaders have chalked out a strategy to campaign for candidates in the State including Valley.”
He said the party would hold a delegate-level convention in South Kashmir’s Shopian district and 1,500 delegates were expected to attend the convention.