Why BJP withdrew 1st list of J&K poll candidates within hours & issued two fresh ones

Withdrawn list did not have names of former deputy CMs Nirmal Singh, Kavinder Gupta, & J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina. Supporters of Om Khajuria protested at the party office.

BJP workers protest at the party office after the release of the first list for J&K polls in Jammu on Monday | ANI

New Delhi: The missing names of Jammu and Kashmir former deputy chief ministers Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) poll list caused an unrest among their supporters Monday, forcing the leadership to bring out two revised lists.

The name of J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina also did not figure in the withdrawn list that comprised 44 candidates. While there were names of 15 candidates for the first phase, it also had 10 and 19 candidates for the second and third round of polling.

As angry BJP workers questioned the logic behind fielding turncoats on various seats while ignoring the claim of those who have spent years in the party, the party released the revised list of 15 candidates for the first phase of elections covering 16 assembly segments in the Kashmir valley and eight in Jammu.

The other revised list had just one name—Choudhary Roshan Hussain Gujjar from Kokernag. Overall, there are eight Muslim candidates and one woman (Shagun Parihar from Kishtwar).

Of the total 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, 74 are reserved for general, nine for Scheduled Tribes, and seven for Scheduled Castes. The elections will be held in three phases (18 & 25 September, & 1 October), and the counting will take place on 4 October. 

When the first list was released, there were question marks over the absence of biggies like Singh, Gupta, Raina as well as for BJP former state chief Sat Sharma. Former National Conference leader Devender Singh Rana, the brother of Union minister Jitendra Singh, found a place in this list.

The supporters of north Jammu seat aspirant Om Khajuria protested at the party office, while there were reports of protest from Kishtwar seat, too.

“Protests have happened on many seats due to turncoats (getting tickets) and ignoring the sentiment of party workers. Congress turncoat (Sham Lal Sharma) was fielded in Jammu north despite Khajuria topping a survey. Although his name  was put on hold (later). Similarly in Kishtwar, a wrong candidate was given a ticket… So, protest led to the withdrawal of the list…,” a senior leader from J&K told ThePrint.

Another BJP functionary told ThePrint that the first list comprised mostly those from the camp of Jitendra Singh and his brother. “That is why many senior leaders were dropped to accommodate turncoats and that is the main reason for dissent,” he told ThePrint. 

But, a third BJP leader sought to play down the protests, saying that the candidates for second and third rounds of polling were withdrawn to avoid the “goof-up” that led to protest among party workers.

Engineer Syed Showkat Gayoor Andrabi (Pampore) is among the turncoats to find place in the revised lists.

BJP state vice-president Sofi Yousuf will contest against PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti in Bijbehara. Another state vice-president Shakti Raj Parihar is trying his luck from Doda West. Former minister Sunil Sharma is BJP’s candidate at Paddar Padder-Nagseni.

Shagun Parihar’s father and uncle, both affiliated with BJP, were killed by terrorists in 2018 in Kishtwar. “I have full faith that the people of Kishtwar will accept their daughter with open heart. This election is not only of the Parihar family but this election is of the families of all those martyrs who have sacrificed their lives for the integrity of the country. This election is of all the people of Kishtwar, who want peace and brotherhood in Kishtwar,” the Kishtwar candidate told ANI.

BJP’s Kashmir strategy 

In the last assembly elections held in 2014, when J&K was a full-fledged state, the BJP had won 25 seats and was governing along with the PDP before it pulled out in June 2018.

Now after the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution and the delimitation exercise, the BJP is hopeful of putting up a good performance in combating anti incumbency in its stronghold of Jammu region. In Kashmir, where it faces challenges, the party is using strategies, including supporting smaller parties, in the hope of forming a government.

A fourth BJP leader explained that though the party won against INDIA bloc in the general elections on its own, it was “not willing to take chances with the larger narrative of Hindutva and the scrapping of Article 370. “In the assembly polls, constituency sizes are small and there are multiple candidates,” he added.

“There are three strategies that we are banking on to get support in the valley. We are optimistic that In a multi-polar contest, the BJP has more chances to dent the vote bank of NC, Congress and PDP. The party is banking on  smaller players like Engineer Rashid to make a dent in votes of NC-Congress in Uri, Sopore, Sonwari, and Trehgam,” a BJP insider said.

“Rashid created a wave to defeat Omar Abdullah in the general election but this cannot happen without the BJP’s support. Parole for oath taking was a signal to him to attract young voters for denting legacy parties in Kashmir. This way the BJP expects to gain by dividing votes of NC and Congress in north Kashmir. As for south Kashmir, we are optimistic that Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir can dent PDP votes,” the insider explained. 

The second strategy, according to this insider, is that the BJP is banking on victories of like-minded parties like Sajad Lone’s Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference and Apni Party. Similarly, Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) is also expected to play spoiler for Kashmir-based parties. 

The BJP is also banking on Independents like former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig’s wife Safina Baig who is contesting in north Kashmir’s Baramulla. Former NC leader Sheikh and Ganderbal ex-MLA Ishfaq Jabbar is another such candidate.

“The BJP will gain this time in the Valley, too, as the people are fed up with the politics of the PDP and the NC. With the support of like-minded independents, the BJP will be able to form a government,” BJP J&K general secretary organisation Ashok Kaul told ThePrint. 

In the J&K polls, the BJP has announced that it would not ally with any political party and support strong Independent candidates on those assembly seats in Kashmir where the party would not be contesting the elections.

(Edited by Tony Rai)