In a significant reshuffle ahead of the Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appointed Sat Sharma as the new working president resident of its Jammu and Kashmir unit. As per the official communication issued by the party, Dr Nirmal Sigh has been the president of the State Election Campaign Committee, and Sukhnandan Choudhary as the vice president. Additionally, Kavinder Gupta has been appointed as the head of the State Election Management Committee. These appointments are said to be part of the BJP's strategy to strengthen its organisational structure ahead of upcoming elections in the region.
Earlier on Sunday, the BJP released its sixth list of 10 candidates for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, replacing ex-deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta with former Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Vikram Randhawa from Bahu seat of Jammu district. Gupta was elected from Gandhi Nagar, renamed as the Bahu assembly segment, in 2014 elections. The BJP's fresh list of candidates also included former MLA R S Pathania who was fielded from Udhampur East and former bureaucrat Bharat Bhushan from Kathua, doctor-turned politician Rajeev Bhagat from Bishnah and Surinder Bhagat from Marh – the three seats reserved for Scheduled Caste community.
'Only Centre can ensure statehood restoration'
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday dismissed the Opposition's attempt to revive the autonomy plank during the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls and asked the NC-Congress alliance to stop fooling people by promising statehood as only the Centre can restore the status. Shah assured people about the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood after the assembly election, which he said is the first under the national flag and the Constitution following the abrogation of Article 370 by the Narendra Modi government.
J-K Assembly polls 2024
The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for the upcoming Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Polling to elect 90 members of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will take place in three phases. The elections will be held on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The results of the polls will be announced on October 8. It will be the first election in the valley since provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution were abrogated and the erstwhile state divided into two Union Territories in 2019.
