From Arshid Bhat to Rafiq Wani, names of BJP candidates for Jammu-Kashmir assembly elections

On Monday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unveiled its first list of 44 candidates for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. The election will be conducted in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1, with vote counting scheduled for October 4.

List of the candidates

The BJP's candidate list includes notable names for various constituencies. Arshid Bhat will contest from Rajpora, Javed Ahmad Qadri from Shopian, and Mohd. Rafiq Wani from Anantnag West. Other candidates include Adv. Syed Wazahat for Anantnag, Sushri Shagun Parihar for Kishtwar, and Gajay Singh Rana for Doda.

Kuldeep Raj Dubey will run for Reasi, Rohit Dubey for Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, and Chowdhary Abdul Ghani for Poonch Haveli. The list also features Pawan Gupta for Udhampur West, Dr. Devinder Kumar Maniyal for Ramgarh (SC), and Mohan Lal Bhagat for Akhnoor.

BJP releases a list of 44 candidates for the upcoming Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections

Arshid Bhat to contest from Rajpora, Javed Ahmad Qadri to contest from Shopian, Mohd. Rafiq Wani to contest from Anantnag West. Adv. Syed Wazahat to contest from Anantnag, Sushri Shagun… pic.twitter.com/s7dXVe8Fdm

— ANI (@ANI) August 26, 2024

Election Strategy and Alliances

The BJP's Central Election Committee finalized the candidate list during a meeting on Sunday evening. In the 2014 assembly elections, the BJP secured 25 seats in Jammu and Kashmir when it was a full-fledged state.

This time, the party is focusing on countering a reinvigorated Congress-National Conference alliance. The BJP has stated it will not form alliances with other political parties but will support independent candidates in Kashmir valley constituencies where it will not field its own candidates.