Ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir (J-K) Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday appointed national spokespersons RP Singh and Shazia Ilmi to oversee media coordination efforts in the Union Territory.
Punjab State Media Convenor Vineet Joshi will also join the media coordination team for the J-K assembly polls.
RP Singh, a BJP national spokesperson, previously served as a member of the Fifth Delhi Legislative Assembly representing Rajinder Nagar. Shazia Ilmi, another BJP national spokesperson, joined the party in 2015 after leaving the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Before her political career, Ilmi was a journalist.
This move follows the BJP’s release of its initial list of 15 candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in J-K. The party has fielded Syed Showkat Andrabi from Pampore, Arshad Bhat from Rajpora, Javed Qari from Shopian, Mohd. Rafiq Wani from Anantnag West, Syed Wazahat from Anantnag, Sofi Yousuf from Bijbehar, Veer Saraf from Shangus-Anantnag East, Tariq Keen from Inderwal, Shagun Parihar from Kishtwar, Sunil Sharma from Padder-Naseni, Daleep Singh Parihar from Bhadarwah, Gajay Rana from Doda, Shakti Parihar from Doda, Rakesh Thakur from Ramban, and Salim Bhat for the Banihal constituency.
In the meantime, the National Conference (NC) and Congress are engaged in discussions to resolve differences over seat-sharing arrangements for the assembly elections in the Union Territory. August 27 is the final day for filing nominations for the first phase of the J-K assembly election.
On Monday, the Congress sent KC Venugopal and senior leader Salman Khurshid to finalize the seat-sharing details. According to top Congress sources, the party is demanding to contest at least 8 out of the 24 seats in the first phase. The NC is reportedly offering 35 seats to the Congress against its demand for 37, out of a total of 90 seats.
It is also reported that the NC has proposed “friendly contests” on some seats, a suggestion the Congress is not willing to accept.
The Election Commission of India has scheduled polling in J-K for three phases: September 18, 25, and October 1, with vote counting set for October 4. There are a total of 90 Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, including 7 reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 9 reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs). Official data indicates that Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible electors.
These elections will be the first Assembly polls held in Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
(With ANI Inputs)
Also Read: BJP Government Announces 5 New Districts In Ladakh, Ahead Assembly Elections
