SRINAGAR: The BJP has released first list of 45 candidates, which includes 14 Muslims, for the 87-member J&K Assembly. Elections will be held in five phases beginning November 25.
BJP’s Central Election Committee met under the presidentship of party president Amit Shah yesterday to finalize the first list of candidates for J&K Assembly polls. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance and Defence minister Arun Jaitley and all members of Central Election Committee of the party.
The party cleared names of 45 candidates for 32 seats in Jammu, 11 in Kashmir and two in Ladakh.
There are 46 Assembly seats in the Valley, 37 in Jammu and 4 in Ladakh.
Of the 45 candidates announced by the BJP, 14 are Muslims. Nine of the Muslim candidates have been fielded from Kashmir and rest from Jammu region.
The Muslim candidates are Ishfaq-ur-Rehman Poswal from Karnah seat, Nazir Ahmad Raina from Kangan, Hakim Masood from Hazratbal, Miss Hina Bhat from Amira Kadal, Mushtaq Noorabadi from Noorabad, Ghulam Nabi Dar from Homeshalibugh, Fayaz Ahmad Bhat from Devsar, Sofi Yousuf from Pahalgam, Tariq Keen from Inderwal, Shoukat Deng from Banihal, Talib Hussain from Rajouri, Abdul Ghani Kholi from Kalakote, Taj Mohammad Khan from Suankote and Zulfikhar Ali Pathan from Mendar.
Hina Bhat is the lone woman candidate from Kashmir. She is daughter of former NC MP and MLA, Mohammad Shafiq Bhat. Her father was also associated with Congress and had won the Amira Kadal seat in Srinagar on Congress ticket in 2002 polls after being denied ticket by NC.
Hina will be contesting from Amira Kadal and will have direct fight with National Conference’s Nasir Aslam Wani and PDP’s Altaf Bukhari.
The party surprisingly dropped seven sitting legislators including legislature party leader Ashok Khajuria. The six dropped legislators had indulged in cross-voting in 2011 J&K Legislative Council election for National Conference-Congress candidates. Besides Khajuria, other six party legislators who were not given mandate include Baldev Sharma (Reasi), Durga Dass (Hiranagar-Reserve), Master Lal Chand (Bani), Jagdish Raj Sapolia (Basohli), Bharat Bushan (Domana-Reserve) and Gharu Bhagat (RS Pura-Reserve).
The six had been expelled by BJP in 2011 after found involved in cross-voting. The party had later revoked their expulsion.
Congress MP from Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat, who recently joined BJP, was given mandate from Basohli seat in Kathua district. He had won the seat in 1996 and 2002 Assembly polls but lost to BJP’s Jagdish Raj Sapolia in 2008 elections.
BJP also named candidates for two Assembly seats from Ladakh -- Tsering Dorje from Leh and Tenjing Galik from Nobra.
In 2008 Assembly polls, BJP had won 11 seats. This time BJP has set a target on forming its own government in the State by securing 44+ seats.