J-K Polls: BJP's Pawan Khajuria demands change of candidate on Udhampur East seat

Udhampur (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 9 (ANI): After being denied a ticket from the Udhampur East constituency in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, BJP leader Pawan Khajuria requested the party to replace him with any "dedicated worker."
He also slammed the party's candidate, RS Pathania, and said that Pathania has always tried to "destroy" the party as part of a "planned conspiracy."
Khajuria said, "After the party's decision yesterday, the party workers and supporters were angry. I called for a meeting with all my supporters and party workers here so that we could discuss our future course of action. It is my request to the party leadership that the party worker who has got the mandate (to contest from Udhampur East) is not a party worker in the true sense, he cannot think about the welfare of the party. He has always tried to destroy the party as part of a planned conspiracy. He has openly worked against our party MP, Jitendra Singh."
Further, Khajuria urged the BJP to announce a "dedicated worker" on the seat, and assured his full support
"I will always be dedicated to the welfare of the party. It is because of this that I will not demand a mandate for myself, but I urge the party to give a mandate to any dedicated worker of the party irrespective of their position, we will all support him and ensure he wins. We had given the party an ultimatum till noon today to change this decision. So today the party has replaced the state president with a new executive president, but our workers are still not satisfied. They want this candidate to be changed," Khajuria added.
The BJP released its sixth list of candidates for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. Pathania and Pawan Khajuria were the two main contenders for the ticket on Udhampur East seat.
Meanwhile, R S Pathania, upon receiving the nomination, expressed his gratitude towards the BJP's top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president J.P. Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other senior leaders from Jammu and Kashmir. He thanked them for their trust and for giving him the opportunity to contest from Udhampur East.
Pathania is BJP spokesperson for Jammu and Kashmir. He was elected as MLA from Ramnagar constituency in 2014.
Polling in J-K would be held in three phases starting from September 18, 25, and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8. (ANI)