Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024: Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina on Monday confidently said that his party will emerge as the single largest party by securing 35 seats. He further emphasised that the BJP will form the government with support from like-minded parties and independent candidates.
Notably, the counting of votes for the 90 Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir is set to begin on Tuesday morning. This marks the final phase of a significant electoral journey, which will establish the union territory's first elected government since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
'Confident of winning 35 seats'
"We are confident of winning 35 seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and with the support of independents and like-minded groups, who will secure around 15 seats, we will cross the majority mark of 50 to form the government," Raina told reporters here.
"The people have voted for us, endorsing our vision for development and peace", he said.
Raina said the BJP is set to perform exceptionally well and "the overwhelming public support for our party, demonstrated by the large crowds at rallies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah clearly indicates that people have voted for the BJP".
He further said that the Congress would suffer a "crushing defeat" in these elections, making BJP the single largest party.
Ravinder Raina on alliances
On the issue of party’s alliances, he said the "BJP has supported 15 independent and like-minded candidates, but we have no ties with Engineer Rasheed's party. hey (Independents and like-minded groups) will score a victory. e will be the largest voted party in Jammu and Kashmir."
On J-K LG's power to nominate 5 MLAs
He also said that the nomination of five MLAs by the Lieutenant Governor is being carried out as per the Reorganisation Act. "The Reorganisation Act has already been passed by Parliament. his process will proceed accordingly. t will be carried out by the LG as part of the constitutional process," he said.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor can nominate five MLAs at the time of government formation or at a later stage on the aid and advice of the council of ministers. The five members to be nominated by the LG will take the effective strength of the assembly to 95, where 48 would be the majority mark.
This process follows an amendment to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 which was further revised on July 26, 2023 to introduce these nominations.
(With PTI inputs)
