J&K Assembly Elections:BJP sets up ‘war room’ in Jammu hotel amid ongoing protests over candidate selection

Jammu, Aug 28: Amidst growing internal discontent, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has set up a ‘war room’ at Hotel Ritz in Channi Himmat, Jammu, and cancelled most of its political activities at its Trikuta Nagar headquarters.
The move comes after ongoing protests by party workers who are upset with the list of candidates announced for the upcoming assembly elections.
According to sources, the decision to shift operations away from the Trikuta Nagar Head Office was made due to continuous demonstrations by BJP workers from various parts of the Jammu province. The party has faced backlash over the selection of candidates, which has led to unrest within its ranks.
Over the past few days, BJP Chief Spokesperson Sunil Sethi has been holding press conferences at Hotel Ritz, which marks a shift from the usual venue.
In light of the ongoing protests at Trikuta Nagar, the BJP has decided to move all its election-related activities to Hotel Ritz. This includes press briefings, Core Group meetings, organizational meetings and internal meetings of different Morchas.
High-ranking leaders and ministers from the Central government are now expected to attend meetings at the new location instead of the party’s headquarters.
Meanwhile, protests continued for the third consecutive day at the Trikuta Nagar office. Workers from Chamb, Marah, and women from Ramnagar held strong demonstrations against the candidate selection process.
The J&K BJP President, Ravinder Raina also faced challenges during a visit to Katra, where BJP workers expressed their discontent over the decision to deny a ticket to Kuldeep Dubey from the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Assembly segment. Dubey’s name had appeared in an initial candidate list but was later replaced by Baldev Raj Sharma, sparking further protests.