BJP declares star campaigners for Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 26 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its list of star campaigners on Monday for the upcoming Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which will be held in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are among those named.
Other names on the list include Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Manohar Lal Khattar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, G Kishan Reddy, Jitendra Singh, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma, Anurag Thakur, and Smriti Irani amongst others.
Earlier, the BJP also released its first list of candidates for the Jammu and Kashmir elections.
The initial list includes 15 candidates, with the party aiming to represent various communities and castes. The list features candidates from both the Jammu and Kashmir regions.
The party subsequently announced its candidate for the Kokernag seat as well.
Sources indicate that the BJP has sought to reflect the region's diverse demographic composition and strengthen its outreach to different communities.
The party has fielded Syed Showkat Gayoor Andrabi from Pampore, Arshid Bhat from Rajpora, Javed Ahmad Qadri from Shopian, Mohammad Rafiq Wani from Anantnag West, and Syed Wazahat from Anantnag. Veer Saraf is the candidate from Shangus-Anantnag East.
The party has also fielded Sofi Yousuf from Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Tariq Keen from Inderwal, and Salim Bhat from Banihal. Shagun Parihar, the only woman on the list, will contest from Kishtwar.
Additionally, the BJP has fielded Sunil Sharma from Padder-Nagseni, Daleep Singh Parihar from Bhadarwah, Gajay Singh Rana from Doda, Shakti Raj Parihar from Doda West, and Rakesh Thakur from Ramban.
Choudhary Roshan Hussain Gujjar will contest from Kokernag.
The Election Commission has issued the notification for the first phase of elections, in which 24 seats will go to the polls.
Jammu and Kashmir is expected to witness multi-cornered contests in most seats. These are the first assembly polls since the abrogation of Article 370.
In the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, the BJP won both seats in Jammu, demonstrating its strong support in the region. The National Conference also secured two seats.
The votes will be counted on October 4. (ANI)