Narendra Modi and Amit Shah at Party Meeting to Decide on J&K Election Candidates

The BJP is currently focused on addressing the challenge posed by a resurgent Congress. They recently held a committee meeting to finalize the party’s candidates for the upcoming assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, which is significant as it is taking place after a decade. The final list of candidates is expected to be released on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief JP Nadda, and other CEC members, including Home Minister Amit Shah, discussed the matter with party leaders from the Union Territory. The BJP is entering the polls without a strong local pre-poll alliance but is considering extending support to regional parties and Independent candidates. Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala criticized the BJP over its comments on the alliance between the Grand Old Party and Omar Abdullah’s National Conference, pointing out the BJP’s past alliances with both the National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party.

In the 2014 election, the BJP had won 25 seats and formed a government in alliance with the PDP, which eventually collapsed in 2018. Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was revoked in 2019, and the state was divided into two Union Territories. The 90-member assembly of Jammu and Kashmir is set to go to polls in three phases – September 18 and 25 and October 1, with the counting of votes on October 4.

The BJP’s next CEC meeting is scheduled for August 29 to strategize for the Haryana polls. The BJP is facing a strong challenge from the Congress in Haryana, where it has been in power since 2014.