SRINAGAR: The BJP has issued a revised list of 15 candidates for the first phase of the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. In this revised list of 15 candidates, all are Muslim.
Thee second list of one candidate was released a few minutes later. BJP fielded Choudhary Roshan Hussain Gujjar from Konkernag.
Earlier in the morning, the party had issued a list of 44 candidates, which included 14 Muslims for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls. However, the party withdrew this list to make some changes.
Two former Deputy Chief Ministers, Kavinder Gupta and Nirmal Singh, along with some senior leaders, were not included in the list, which featured 14 Muslim candidates.
Jammu and Kashmir will go to the polls in three phases: the first phase on September 18, the second phase on September 25, and the final phase on October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 4.
For the first phase of the polls on September 18, 24 Assembly segments in the districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Doda, Ramban, and Kishtwar will be voting."
The final date for submission of nomination forms for the first phase of polls is tomorrow (August 27).
A BJP leader said it is unlikely that the party will release another list of candidates for the first phase, as the final date for submitting nomination papers is tomorrow.
Over 88 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their right to vote in Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir and out of them about 23.27 lakh voters including 5.66 lakh youths are eligible to vote in the first phase of polling on September 18.
After the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of erstwhile J&K state by the centre on August 5, 2019, the strength of Assembly seats in J&K has risen to 90 including 47 seats in Kashmir and 43 seats in Jammu region. Out of the 90 Assembly seats, nine seats have been reserved for ST and seven for SC.
The Assembly poll is the first such poll in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370 and the downgrading and bifurcation of the erstwhile J&K state into two UTs.
Jammu and Kashmir has been under direct central rule since June 2018. The last Assembly poll in J&K was held in 2014.
