BJP begins process of shortlisting candidates for J&K assembly elections

Jammu, Aug 08: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has initiated the process of shortlisting candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, with the full Election Commission of India (ECI) having arrived in the Union Territory (UT) on Thursday.
According to highly placed sources in the BJP, the party has invited resumes from aspiring candidates who have working experience and have made significant contributions to the party and society. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with many aspirants already submitting their resumes.
The received resumes will be shortlisted by the BJP, and the list will then be sent to the party’s high command. The high command will finalise the candidates from the shortlisted list submitted by the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the party.
The Jammu and Kashmir BJP is considering factors such as an individual’s contribution to the party and society, in addition to other factors, when shortlisting candidates. This is the first time assembly elections are being held in Jammu and Kashmir since 2015, when the BJP won a record 25 seats in the Jammu region.
The 2015 coalition government formed by the BJP and PDP was based on the Agenda for Alliance. However, the government lasted for only three years before the BJP withdrew its support from the PDP. The upcoming elections will be significant as they will be held after the revocation of Article 370 and delimitation.
After delimitation, the total number of assembly seats has increased to 90 from 83. The Jammu region now has 43 seats, while Kashmir has 47 seats. The BJP is eyeing increased seats in the Jammu region, which had 37 seats prior to delimitation.