Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha will nominate five BJP members as MLAs, the vice president of the party’s J&K branch said, emphasizing, “It is our government at the Center, so our names will go.” Sofi Yousuf listed the members in an interview with Greater Kashmir, asserting that they will be the ones to receive nominations. He said, “Thappa lag giya (it has been sealed)” when asked if it was official.
“J&K Lieutenant Governer will nominate five BJP members as MLAs,” claims BJP’s vice-president for J&K
The candidates, he claimed, were BJP state secretary Ashok Koul, former BJP women’s wing state president Rajni Sethi, state secretary Dr Fareeda Khan and party spokesperson Sunil Sethi. “The fifth one is a refugee, the president of our Mahila Morcha. All of them are ours,” Sofi Yusuf told Greater Kashmir in a video interview.
He went on to say that the BJP will establish government on its own. “The Congress, the PDP (Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party), and the National Conference are not necessary. The BJP will independently create government,” he continued.
In terms of numbers, he claimed that the majority of independent contenders and the minor parties contesting are affiliated with the BJP.
The prospect of the Lieutenant Governor nominating five members post the announcement of election results has caused a great deal of controversy in Jammu & Kashmir ahead of to tomorrow’s vote-counting.
The Congress, its ally National Conference and the PDP have argued that giving the lieutenant governor such authority is a betrayal of the people’s will because the BJP stands to gain from it.
Following the Delimitation Commission’s 2022 increase in the Union Territory’s seat count, a new regulation gave the LG the authority to propose five members to the assembly, including two women, two Kashmiri Pandits, and a displaced person from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). This brought the total number of seats to 95 and the majority mark up from 46 to 48.
According to reports, the Union Home Ministry’s recommendations would be implemented by the Lieutenant Governor. There has been talk that early today, officials of BJP and RSS held a meeting to finalize the names.
The three main-non-BJP parties have said if the nomination happens, they will challenge it in the Supreme Court.