NEW DELHI: BJP today released a list of its five candidates for the biennial elections to the Legislative Council of Jammu and Kashmir.
Of the total 11 vacancies in the Legislative Council, BJP has nominated candidates for five seats while PDP is likely to put up candidates for the remaining six. Party sources hinted that the two parties might contest the polls together as they had done in the recently-held Rajya Sabha election.
"The Central Election Committee has decided the following names for the ensuing biennialelections to Legislative Council of Jammu and Kashmir," said a press release issued by party general secretary and CEC Secretary J P Nadda.
While Tsering Dorjung has been nominated as BJP candidate from the Leh Province, Sofi Yusaf is the party candidate from the Kashmir Province.
The party candidates from the Jammu province are Vibodh Gupta, Ramesh Arora and Charanjit Singh Khalsa.
While Gupta and Arora are party's state unit vice presidents and old workers, Khalsa is the BJP state unit secretary. Arora was in charge of assembly elections in Kashmir while Khalsa was the convener. Yusaf is an old party hand, a leader said.
The biennial elections to the state Legislative Council have been necessitated as eight members are retiring soon and another three have been elected to the state assembly.
The biennial polls will be held on March 2 for which the notification was issued on February 12 and the last date of filing nominations is February 18.
Among the sitting MLC members retiring between March 9 and 16 are M K Ajatshatru Singh (Jammu Province), B R Kundal (Jammu Province), Syed Asgar Ali (Jammu Province), Narboo Gialchan (Ladakh Tehsil of Kashmir Province), Aga Syed Ahmad Rizvi (Kargil Tehsil of Kashmir Province), Vijay Bakaya (Kashmir Province), Syed Mohammad Rafiq Shah (Kashmir Province) and Khalid Najeeb Suharwardy (Jammu Province).
Besides, Mohammad Ashraf Mir (Kashmir Province), Abdul Majeed Bhat (Kashmir Province) and Devender Singh Rana (Jammu Province) have since been elected to the Legislative Assembly held last year.