In Jammu and Kashmir, political parties have stepped up their electoral campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections. Polling will be held in three phases on 18th and 25th of this month and on October 1st. The counting of votes will be taken up on 8th of next month.

Defence Minister and Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh today addressed a rally in Ramban district. He took a strong stance against the Congress Party’s claims to restore Article 370, asserting that as long as the BJP is in power, the article will not be reinstated. He emphasized that BJP’s commitment to maintain the current status and focus on the significant progress made in J&K under the party’s leadership. Mr. Singh also highlighted the transformation of Jammu and Kashmir from a region known for terrorism to one recognized for tourism and development.

Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah accused the BJP of misleading people by claiming that terrorism will rise again if the National Conference and Congress alliance came to power in the Union Territory.

Addressing the media in Anantnag, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Mehbooba Mufti said, if her party had not been there, the National Conference would have been functioning in a dictatorial manner. She alleged that, people are very angry and upset with the National Conference.

In a related development, J&K’s BJP unit today demanded the Election Commission of India to reject or cancel the nomination of former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for threatening the people of the Union Territory. Talking to newsmen at Jammu, the State Party spokesperson Sunil Sethi said, a former Sarpanch of Ganderbal, with consent from Omar Abdullah, has threatened that those who do not support the flag of National Conference would be killed. Mr. Sethi said, instead of talking about their manifestoes, Congress and National Conference are misleading people on other issues and have no roadmap for the development of the Union Territory.

Meanwhile, BJP today released a list of 10 candidates. R. S Pathania will contest from Udhampur East and Naseer Ahmad Lone from Bandipora. Bharat Bhushan will contest the election from Kathua, Rajeev Bhagat from Bishnah and Surinder Bhagat from Marh Assembly Constituencies of Jammu district. The three assembly seats are reserved for the Scheduled Caste.