NC bets on veterans, BJP gambles with fresh faces in J&K Polls

Srinagar, Aug 27: The National Conference (NC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two major political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, have announced their major candidate lists for the upcoming Assembly elections.
The NC, in alliance with the Congress, will contest 51 assembly segments. They released their first list of 18 candidates on Monday, followed by a second list of 32 candidates on Tuesday. The party has chosen to retain around 60% of its previous candidates from the 2014 assembly elections, including prominent leaders such as Omar Abdullah, Ali Mohammad Sagar, Nasir Aslam Wani, and Abdul Rahim Rather.

In contrast, the BJP has introduced new faces, with 80% of its candidates being newcomers, including those who have recently joined the party from other political groups. Notable figures like Devender Singh Rana, a former NC leader and brother of Union Minister Jitendra Singh, ex-Congress minister Sham Lal Sharma, and former NC minister S S Salathia are among those who have secured BJP tickets.
Some senior BJP leaders, including J&K President Ravindar Raina and former Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, Kavindar Gupta, did not appear in the first lists of candidates.
The Congress has also released a small list of candidates. The election will take place in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1, with vote counting scheduled for October 4.
In the 2014 Assembly elections, the BJP secured 25 seats, all in Jammu, while the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats, predominantly in the Kashmir Valley. Following the recent delimitation, the total number of seats in Jammu and Kashmir has increased to 114, with 24 reserved for Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. The remaining 90 seats are split between Jammu (43) and Kashmir (47).