Jammu, Aug 16: Following the Election Commission of India’s announcement to hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command swiftly summoned senior leaders of the party’s J&K unit to Delhi for urgent discussions on election preparations.
According to highly placed sources, J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina has already arrived in New Delhi. Other senior leaders, including BJP General Secretaries Ashok Koul (Organisation), Sunil Sharma, and Vibodh Gupta, are expected to arrive in Delhi on Saturday.
The J&K BJP leaders will engage in a closed-door meeting with BJP National President JP Nadda over the next two days to strategise for the upcoming assembly elections. This meeting follows the immediate response by the BJP high command to the election announcement, underscoring the party’s focus on securing a strong performance in the region.
Meanwhile, the BJP has initiated the process of shortlisting candidates for the upcoming polls.
Acting on the directions of the party’s high command, the J&K unit of the BJP has deployed two observers to each of the 17 districts in the Jammu region. These observers have been tasked with gathering feedback from the local BJP units and leaders in each assembly constituency regarding potential candidates.
The Jammu region, according to the BJP’s organszational structure, comprises 17 districts that cover all 43 assembly constituencies.
The feedback collected by the observers was sent to the BJP headquarters in Trikuta Nagar, Jammu, where the names of probable candidates were submitted in sealed boxes. The party has also developed a special format for aspiring candidates to fill out, which includes details about their qualifications, social service, contributions to the party, and property.
The names gathered will undergo scrutiny by the J&K BJP before being forwarded to the party’s high command for finalisation. A similar exercise is expected to be conducted in the Kashmir region within the next few days to shortlist candidates for the assembly elections there.
