J&K LS candidates to be announced by BJP parliamentary board, says party leader

Srinagar, Mar 24 (PTI) Candidates for the three Lok Sabha constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir will be announced by the party’s parliamentary board, a BJP leader said here on Sunday.

“The decision on candidates is taken by the parliamentary board which is headed by Prime Minister Modi. The elections in Kashmir are scheduled in later phases, so we still have time to announce the candidates. So far the party has announced candidates for around 250 constituencies only,” BJP general secretary (J&K) Ashok Koul told reporters here.

Asked if the BJP was considering supporting the grand alliance coming up in Kashmir, Koul said the BJP will field its candidates on all three seats of the valley.

“We will be fielding candidates on all three seats and we are not supporting any alliance. The alliance that is coming up or is going to come up, it is their thinking. There are so many alliances which have come up in the country, we cannot stop anyone,” he said.

BJP cadres will follow whatever decision is taken by the parliamentary board on the issue, he added.

Speculations are rife that BJP might not field candidates in the Lok Sabha constituencies in Kashmir and instead support a joint candidate from an anti-National Conference and anti-PDP front.

There have been indications that DPAP of Ghulam Nabi Azad and Apni Party of Altaf Bukhari might enter into a pre-poll alliance for these seats.

Earlier, several persons from Pulwama and Budgam districts joined the BJP at its office here.