New Delhi, August 26, 2024 – The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has unveiled its first list of candidates for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, with a strategic lineup aimed at consolidating its base in both Jammu and Kashmir regions. The announcement was made on Monday, marking a significant step in the party’s election campaign.
Key Highlights:
- Three-Time Legislator Devender Singh Rana will represent the BJP from Nagrota, one of the party’s key strongholds.
- The list includes 44 candidates in total: 15 for the first phase, 10 for the second, and 19 for the third phase of polling.
- The elections are scheduled to take place in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1, with vote counting set for October 4.
Phase-Wise Candidate Breakdown:
Phase 1:
- Pampore: Syed Showkat Gayoor Andrabi
- Rajpora: Arshid Bhat
- Shopian: Javed Ahmad Qadri
- Anantnag West: Mohd Rafiq Wani
- Anantnag: Syed Wazahat
- Srigufwara-Bijbehara: Sofi Yousuf
- Shangus-Anantnag East: Veer Saraf
- Inderwal: Tariq Keen
- Kishtwar: Sushri Shagun Parihar
- Padder-Nagseni: Sunil Sharma
- Bhadarwah: Daleep Singh Parihar
- Doda: Gajay Singh Rana
- Doda West: Shakti Raj Parihar
- Ramban: Rakesh Thakur
- Banihal: Salim Bhat
Phase 2:
- Habakkadal: Ashok Bhat
- Gulabgarh (ST): Ashok Bhat
- Reasi: Kuldeep Raj Dubey
- Shri Mata Vaishno Devi: Rohit Dubey
- Kalakote-Sunderbani: Thakur Randhir Singh
- Budhal (ST): Chowdhary Zulfikar Ali
- Thannamandi (ST): Mohd Iqbal Malik
- Surankote (ST): Syed Mushtaq Ahmad Bukhari
- Poonch Haveli: Chowdhary Abdul Ghani
- Mendhar (ST): Murtaza Khan
Phase 3:
- Udhampur West: Pawan Gupta
- Chenani: Balwant Singh Mankotia
- Ramnagar (SC): Sunil Bhardwaj
- Bani: Jeevan Lal
- Billawar: Satish Sharma
- Basohli: Darshan Singh
- Jasrota: Rajiv Jasrotia
- Hiranagar: Vijay Kumar Sharma
- Ramgarh (SC): Dr Devinder Kumar Maniyal
- Samba: Surjit Singh Slathia
- Vijaypur: Chandra Prakash Ganga
- Suchetgarh (SC): Gharu Ram Bhagat
- RS Pura-Jammu South: Narinder Singh Raina
- Jammu East: Yudhvir Sethi
- Nagrota: Devender Singh Rana
- Jammu West: Arvind Gupta
- Jammu North: Sham Lal Sharma
- Akhnoor (SC): Mohan Lal Bhagat
- Chhamb: Rajeev Sharma
The BJP’s selection reflects a strategic focus on maintaining its stronghold in Jammu while making inroads into Kashmir constituencies. This move comes in the wake of heightened competition from a resurgent Congress, which is in alliance with the National Conference. The BJP’s performance in the upcoming assembly elections will be closely watched as it seeks to reinforce its position in the region.
