After Modi visit, BJP exudes confidence of winning all six Lok Sabha seats in J&K, Ladakh

Jammu, Feb 21 (PTI) Buoyed by the massive turnout of people at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally here, Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina on Wednesday exuded confidence of winning all the six Lok Sabha seats in J&K and Ladakh in the upcoming polls.

Modi visited Jammu on Tuesday to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple developmental projects. He also addressed a rally in the city.

Raina also said the doors of his party are open for anyone who wishes to join the party and serve the people under the leadership of the prime minister.

There are five Lok Sabha seats in J&K and one in Ladakh.

“Preparations are going on in all the six Lok Sabha constituencies of J&K and Ladakh and we will fight the elections on our own strength. We will win all these seats with the support of the people who will give their votes to Modi,” Raina told reporters here.

He said his party is sure that the people would whole-heartedly support Modi who opened the coffers of his government to facilitate massive development in all the three regions of erstwhile state besides providing justice to the people, especially those who have been deprived of their rights over the past seven decades.

He thanked the leaders of various opposition parties including National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig for praising Modi during the prime minister’s public rally at Maulana Azad Stadium on Tuesday.

While Abdullah joined the function at Nowgam railway station in Srinagar, Baig attended the rally.

Asked about rumours of former minister Choudhary Lal Singh returning to the party fold ahead of the elections, he said, “It is good (if he is back in the party). We have kept our doors open and everyone is welcome. We should all come together to serve the people.”

Singh, the chairman of the Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Party (DSSP), was granted bail by a special court in Jammu on December 23 last year after he was arrested by ED in a money laundering case in November 23.

A two-time MP and three time MLA, Singh switched from Congress to BJP in 2014. However, he resigned from BJP in 2018 following an uproar over his participation in a rally in support of the accused in a rape and murder of the eight-year-old girl in Kathua in January 2018.

However, he defended his participation in the rally stating that he was there to “defuse the situation”.

Thanking people for the warm welcome accorded to the prime minister despite inclement weather, Raina said the people know the reality as Modi ended injustice to various sections of the society by granting their rights, ensured massive development in all sectors and laid the foundation of peaceful and prosperous J&K.

“The past rulers oppressed the people and kept them hostage while the money pumped for the welfare of the poor was looted over the past 70 years. Time has changed with Modi’s mantra of ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, sabka prayas’,” he said.

He also praised Modi for inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 32,000 crore including commissioning of Banihal-Sangaldan rail link and inauguration of AIIMS Jammu, IIT and IIM Jammu.