NEW DELHI, Nov 20:
BJP today fielded Nand Kishore Sharma as the party’s candidate from the Nagrota Assembly constituency and Riyaz Ahmed Mir for the Pulwama seat.
By nominating Nand Kishore, the brother of Jammu and Kashmir BJP unit chief Jugal Kishore Sharma, the party belied speculations that Congress leader Karan Singh’s son Ajatshatru Singh, who had recently quit National Conference to join the saffron fold, would be fielded from the constituency.
The state BJP chief, who was elected to the Lok Sabha in the last general elections, had defeated Ajatshatru from Nagrota constituency in 2008 assembly elections. In the 2002 polls too, Ajatshatru faced defeat from the constituency.
BJP has so far announced a total of 74 of its candidates out of a total of 87 seats in the J&K Assembly, of which 21 are Muslims.
The party’s Central Election Committee cleared the names of the two candidates for the Assembly elections starting November 25, party general secretary and CEC Secretary J P Nadda said.
Buoyed with the party’s recent successes in Haryana and Maharashtra, the BJP is optimistic of performing well in the upcoming Assembly polls in J&K and Jharkhand.
The BJP has chalked out a strategy for J&K and is working in close coordination with smaller parties. The party is likely to carry along some moderate separatists in the Valley and may align with some of them after the polls.
The Assembly polls in the State will start from November 25 and will be held in five phases ending on December 20. The results will be out on December 23. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel