Srinagar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Srinagar today. He is likely to chair a security review meeting.
Soon after landing here, he drove to Srinagar hotel where he is scheduled to meet local BJP leaders ahead of the remaining two phases of elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
A local BJP leader said Shah’s visit to Kashmir is not political.
“The Union home minister is coming to Kashmir but the visit is not political. Elections are underway. The voter turnout on May 13 is a huge success of the central government’s policies, including the abrogation of Article 370,” Sunil Sharma, the general secretary of the party’s Jammu and Kashmir unit, told reporters earlier in the day.
“I think the home minister is coming to review the measures from a security point of view to increase the turnout and create an atmosphere of peace. There is no political activity but the BJP workers will meet him and discuss the party’s organizational matters,” he added.
Sharma was referring to the Srinagar constituency, which went to the polls on May 13 and registered a voter turnout of nearly 38 percent — the second highest in many decades.
Asked if a Jamaat-e-Islami delegation will meet the home minister, Sharma said there is no such meeting scheduled.
Any non-political or senior people can meet Shah but no political delegation is meeting him, Sharma added.
Shah is likely to be briefed about the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir by the top security brass as the Lok Sabha elections will be followed by the annual Amarnath Yatra, scheduled to start on June 29 and conclude on August 19.
The Union Territory might witness assembly elections after the yatra as the Supreme Court has set a deadline of September 30 for holding the polls.
Last week, Shah reiterated that elections in Jammu and Kashmir would be conducted as per Supreme Court schedule and the statehood will be decided after the assembly puts forth the request.
“We will hold the elections in Jammu and Kashmir as per the court dates. As far as statehood is concerned, we will decide after the assembly puts forth the request. I have said this many times in Parliament as well,” Shah said in an interview with a national newspaper.
Shah expressed confidence that the BJP-NDA would achieve its target of securing 400 seats in the ongoing election. He stated that the party is poised to win around 200 seats out of the 283 contested in the initial three phases alone
“It’s difficult to assess the third phase right away. I was busy with my election in this phase. But, I believe that by counting all three phases together, we should be in the range of 175-200 seats (of the 283 polled). So, yes it will be 400 paar in this election,” he said.