In a dramatic turn of events, the BJP on Monday withdrew its first list of 44 candidates for Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections soon after releasing it. The BJP is likely to make some changes to the list and release it soon.
Earlier in the day, the BJP had released its first list of 44 candidates for the elections to the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, fielding Devender Singh Rana from Nagrota. The list had 15 for the first phase of polls, 10 for the second phase and 19 for the third phase.
Some of the reports claimed that the list was withdrawn as only the names from the first phase were meant to be released, but the party mistakenly included candidates for the other two phases as well.
Prominent candidates in the earlier list included Arshid Bhat from Rajpora, Javed Ahmad Qadri from Shopian, and Mohd Rafiq Wani from Anantnag West. In the previous list, the party fielded Adv Syed Wazahat from Anantnag, Sushri Shagun Parihar from Kishtwar, and Gajay Singh Rana from Doda.
It should be noted that the BJP's Central Election Committee had met on Sunday evening to finalise the party's candidates for the polls.
As per the announcement from the EC, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is going to polls in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 4.
In the last assembly elections held in 2014, when Jammu and Kashmir was a full-fledged state, the BJP had won 25 seats.
This time, the BJP is making all out efforts to fend off the challenge from a resurgent Congress, which has tied up with the National Conference, especially in the Jammu region, a BJP bastion since 2014.
