J&K assembly polls: BJP Samba district president quits party over ticket distribution

Samba (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 31 (ANI): Ahead of the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir (J-K), BJP Samba District President Kashmira Singh has resigned from all posts and the party’s membership over issues related to ticket distribution.

Singh announced his resignation during a press conference in Samba on Friday.

In the press conference, he also made several allegations against the party’s state president, Ravinder Raina, and said that he wants to include Sheikh Abdullah’s ideology in BJP, which old workers like us cannot tolerate.

He said that he has nurtured the party with dedication since the time when it had no MLA or MP and struggled to attract members.

“We have worked selflessly for the party for 40 to 42 years. Today, after 30 years, the Samba Assembly constituency has been opened for the general category, and they have given the mandate to Surjit Singh Salathia, who has come from the National Conference. We do not accept this decision,” he said.

Expressing his displeasure over the distribution of party tickets, Singh added, “Today, I am saddened because we were not even considered once when distributing the tickets. The party workers do the work, and then tickets are given to outsider candidates. Those who opposed our thoughts are becoming our candidates today. I cannot accept this, so I am resigning from the BJP.”

He further said that if the party had seen any shortcomings in him, they should have given the ticket to a local worker, which would not have caused any upset. He highlighted that in Samba, from 1996 until now, tickets have consistently been given to outsiders.

“In 1996, Babu Parmanand was fielded; in 2008, Satwant Kaur was defeated in the assembly elections; in 2014, Dr. Davinder Kumar Manyal was given a ticket after resigning from his job in the health department. Now, in 2024, Surjit Singh Salathia, who left the National Conference party, has been given a ticket. How long will this continue? That is why we have resigned from this party today,” he lamented.

Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls are being held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1.

National Conference (NC) will contest 51 of 90 seats and Congress 32 according to the seat-sharing pact reached by the two parties for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. The two parties will also have a contest on five seats. The two parties have left one seat each for CPI(M) and Panthers Party.

There are a total number of 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, out of which 7 seats are reserved for SCs and 9 seats are reserved for STs.

According to the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible electors. These are the first assembly elections to be held in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.