NEW DELHI: BJP on Sunday released the sixth list of ten candidates for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir elections. According to the list, Bharat Bhushan will contest from the Kathua seat, while Abdul Rashid Khan, RS Pathania, and Naseer Ahmad Lone will contest from Sonawari, Udhampur East, and Bandipora, respectively.
This comes after Union home minister Amit Shah unveiled the BJP’s manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections during his two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Shah highlighted that the party’s primary objectives in the region would be to eliminate terrorism and separatism while promoting development, progress, and the empowerment of marginalized communities.
In the 2014 Assembly elections, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) emerged as the largest party with 28 seats, followed by the BJP with 25 seats, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) with 15 seats, and the Congress with 12 seats. However, the PDP-BJP coalition government collapsed in June 2018 when the BJP withdrew its support to the then-chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti.
The upcoming elections will be the first in Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and will take place after a decade-long gap. In December of last year, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to conclude the election process by September 30, 2024.
