SRINAGAR: In a significant push to secure public mandate in the upcoming legislative assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released a list of forty prominent leaders who will lead the party’s campaign in the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir polls.
The list, according to Kashmir Dot Com includes top figures like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Home Minister Amit Shah.
The assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, scheduled to commence on September 18, 2024, are being held after a gap of over a decade. The delay in elections was primarily due to the political uncertainty following the abrupt withdrawal of support by the BJP from its coalition partner, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in 2018. This was followed by the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, leading to the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories—Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The elections, which were due years ago, are now being closely watched as the BJP seeks to make significant inroads in the region. For the first phase of the elections, the party is bringing out its heavyweights as ‘Star Pracharaks’ to bolster its campaign.
The list of star campaigners includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP National President JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and other prominent leaders like Bhajan Lal Sharma, Ram Madhav, Tarun Chugh, Ashish Sood, and Jugal Kishore Sharma.
Other key campaigners include Ghulam Ali Khatana, Narinder Singh, Union Minister Anurag Thakur, Union Minister Smriti Irani, General (Retd) VK Singh, and BJP J&K President Ravinder Raina.
The party has also included regional leaders and grassroots representatives like Ashok Kaul, former Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, Kavinder Gupta, Sunil Sharma, Devender Singh Rana, Sukhnandan Choudhary, Sham Lal Sharma, Trilok Jamwal from Himachal Pradesh, Arun Prabhat Singh, Neelam Langeh, Sardar Ranjodh Singh Nalwa, Sardar Sarabjit Singh Johal, Dananther Singh Kotwal, Sangita Bhagat, Javeed Zargar, Sofi Yousuf, Mohammad Anwar Khan, and Sanjita Dogra.
With this high-profile lineup, the BJP aims to revitalize its base and connect with voters across Jammu and Kashmir as it gears up for these historic elections. (KDC)
