Upcoming elections: BJP banks on ‘some friends’ in JK

3 mins read
Ram

Jammu, Jan 20: BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Sunday said while his party would most likely go it alone in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, it would form a “stable government with some friends” in the state after the polls.
He said his party would contest all seats in the state.
“There is the least possibility of a pre-poll alliance with any party for the assembly elections in the state. The BJP will emerge (as) the largest party after the elections and will give a stable government to the people with some friends,” Madhav told reporters here.
Due to the special circumstances in the state, “we have no hesitation in joining hands with others” to form the government, he said.
Talking about the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) erstwhile ruling alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he said, “After elections we formed an alliance, but today again the BJP is going it alone in the elections.”
The BJP leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick start the party’s campaign for upcoming parliamentary and assembly polls in the state during his visit on February 3.
“While the parliamentary elections are scheduled for April-May, the BJP is ready for the assembly polls in the state as well. It is up to the Election Commission to decide whether the two polls are held together or separately,” Madhav said.
The Election Commission had in November last said fresh elections in Jammu and Kashmir would be held within the next six months. The state is currently under President’s rule.
Madhav dismissed allegations that the BJP did not favour assembly polls in the state.
“There is no truth in the rumours being spread that the BJP is not in favour of early assembly polls in the state,” he said.
He claimed some other parties wanted the polls to be deferred as they feared losing.
Asked about the PDP expelling former minister Altaf Bukhari, Madhav said, “I don’t want to talk about internal matters of another political party, but I must underscore one point here that he is the same leader who was projected as the chief minister of the combined opposition when they (PDP, Congress and National Conference) were trying to form the government in the state just a couple of months ago.”
Speaking about rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, Madhav said the BJP has prepared a roadmap for the community’s return and rehabilitation and it will be implemented only when the situation in the Valley turns conducive.
“We had identified land at five places in the Valley for pandit townships. But due to various reasons, it could not materialize, the biggest being the prevailing security situation in the Valley,” he said.
The BJP leader said the party was bound by its promise to Kashmiri Pandits and when the situation improves, it will take the community’s leadership into confidence and move forward.

PM to visit JK on Feb 3; BJP expects 2 lakh turnout in Jammu rally

Jammu, Jan 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jammu and Kashmir on February 3 to lay the foundation stone for and inaugurate various projects in all three regions of the state, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said on Sunday.
He said Modi will lay the foundation stone for and inaugurate projects worth Rs 35,000 crore and Rs 9,000 crore in Jammu and Kashmir, respectively, during his visit.
“The prime minister is visiting the state next month and will visit Leh, Jammu and Srinagar. He will address a mega rally in Jammu in which over two lakh people are expected to turn up,” Madhav told reporters here.
He said Modi will lay the foundation stone for AIIMS, IIM, IIT, Jammu-Akhnoor road, Shahpur-Kandi road, Sunderbani College, and IIMC in Jammu during his visit.
The prime minister will also inaugurate an engineering college in Kathua and the Jammu ropeway project, he added.
Responding to a question, the BJP general secretary said, “We tried to take forward many projects being part of the previous government, like AIIMS. It was due to our efforts that we brought one AIIMS for Jammu even when in rest of the country only one AIIMS was given to each state.”
Madhav alleged that several projects were delayed due to the Peoples Democratic Party — the BJP’s coalition partner in the erstwhile state government.
“We undertook many projects like this. However, the coalition partner used to slow down the process, otherwise it could have been done earlier,” he said.
He said the BJP will continue its efforts to ensure all-round development in the three regions of the state.
The party was also making efforts to ensure reservation for the Pahari speaking people and divisional status for the region of Ladakh, Madhav said.
“We are making a demand to the governor administration to grant reservation to the Pahari people, who are mostly residing in Jammu, and the divisional status to Ladakh before the prime minister’s visit to the state,” he said.
He asked party leaders and workers to work hard for to make Modi’s visit successful.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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