n the 2014 parliamentary polls, the BJP won three seats — two from Jammu and one from Ladakh.

SRI NAGAR, March 16:

Like its former ally People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest all the six parliamentary seats in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to seek a mandate for the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and the state’s development. The State has six Lok Sabha seats — three in Kashmir, two in Jammu and one in Ladakh.

In the 2014 parliamentary polls, the BJP won three seats — two from Jammu and one from Ladakh. “We will be announcing candidates for all six Lok Sabha seats in the state. We will also be contesting three seats in the Valley,” senior state BJP leader and former Deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta said.

The party is likely to re-nominate Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh from the Doda-Udhampur constituency and Jugal Kishore Sharma from the Jammu-Poonch seat. Both won the seats in 2014. “The names of candidates will be finalised by the party’s parliamentary board in Delhi on Saturday,” said Gupta.

PDP goes solo

Meanwhile, the three-year alliance with the saffron party seems to be testing the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP’s political fortunes. Every major party in the state has refused to forge an alliance with the PDP.  The party will be contesting on all six seats alone.  State Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir, when asked if an alliance with the PDP was possible, said, “No. It is not possible. We had offered unconditional support to the PDP after the 2014 Assembly polls. However, the PDP refused to take our support and aligned with the BJP.”

While the National Conference dismissed the possibility of an alliance saying, “We won’t forge any alliance … it is not a possibility,” the PDP’s former ally BJP also chose to keep its distance.

There is no possibility of aligning with the PDP,” said BJP spokesman Arun Gupta.  PDP vice president Abdul Rehman Veeri said the party would be contesting all six seats on its own.

‘No alliance with Lone’s outfit either’

BJP general secretary (organisation) Ashok Koul added that the party is not looking to forge an alliance with the People’s Conference (PC) — headed by separatist-turned-mainstream politician Sajjad Gani Lone.

Courtesy: Indian Express