Union Home Minister Amit Shah kickstarted BJP’s campaign for the Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir and addressed an election rally in Jammu on Saturday (September 6). He released the party’s manifesto for the polls yesterday during his two-day visit to the region. Shah’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir becomes crucial for the BJP as various party leaders are protesting and some of them quitting the outfit for being denied tickets for the polls.
Amit Shah addresses rally
Shah termed the upcoming elections as historic and said that the voters will cast their votes for the first time under the shade of not two flags, but one.
"The upcoming election is historic. For the first time in history, the J-K voters will vote not under the shade of two flags but under one -- the Tricolour. There will not be two PMs, but only one, who the entire country elects, is PM Modi. I want to make it clear that the BJP will fight and win the election with full strength," he said.
The Home Minister sent out a loud message to Congress and said that the BJP won't let the party "touch reservation" of Dalits and other communities in the region. "Rahul Gandhi, listen to me carefully, no matter how much you try, we won't let you touch the reservation of Pahadi, Bakarwal, and Dalits," he said.
Amit Shah slams Mehbooba Mufti over 'cross-border trade' promise
Shah reiterated that there will be no talks with Pakistan until there is peace in the region and took on PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti over her poll promise to resume "cross-border trade" if PDP comes to power.
"They say that they will start cross-border trade, and the profit of this will go directly to the terror activities. They say that they will talk to Pakistan. I say this today, there will be no talks with Pakistan until there is peace," Shah stressed.
Shah was making a reference to PDP's election manifesto, in which the party talked about resuming cross-border trade with Pakistan if the party wins elections.
The Home Minister said in no uncertain terms that "no power can reinstate autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir".
"They say that they will give autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. I say this today, no power can reinstate autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir. I have said that this we will give the state status back to J-K after the elections. Rahul Gandhi, do not mislead the people," he said.
Congress-National Conference govt can never be formed in J-K: Amit Shah makes huge prediction
Shah made a huge prediction that Congress and National Conference, which are contesting the elections in alliance, can "never form government" in J-K.
"The Congress and Farooq Abdullah government can never be formed in Jammu and Kashmir, I can see this writing on the wall. They are the same people who insulted Raja Hari Singh. There is corruption in the rest of the country on one side, and there is corruption of three families in J-K," he said.
BJP's challenges in J-K
The BJP's campaign for the Jammu and Kashmir elections encountered early setbacks. After releasing its first list of candidates, the party retracted it within hours due to protests from veteran members who felt overlooked in favour of newcomers. This move led to the issuance of a revised list of candidates, which covered 16 of the 24 Assembly seats slated to vote in the first phase on September 18. The previously released list, which featured 44 candidates across all three voting phases, was subsequently pulled from official platforms. The BJP had also released its third list on August 27 and fourth on September 2.
Elections in Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled in three phases and will be conducted on September 18, 25, and October 1. The results of the elections will be declared on October 8.
