BJP to campaign for Mehbooba Mufti in by-elections

A senior BJP leader and the party's only member of the Legislative Council (upper House) from Kashmir Sofi Yousuf told Mail Today, he would campaign for Mehbooba Mufti in Anantnag constituency.

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Mehbooba Mufti
J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti

In Short

  • BJP to campaign for Mehbooba Mufti in by-elections
  • Mufti on Wednesday filed the nomination papers.
  • Nine other candidates have filed their nomination papers.

In a major policy shift indicating growing closeness between the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally Peoples Democratic Party, the BJP is going to campaign for Mehbooba Mufti in Anantnag constituency, which is going for polls on June 22.

BJP-PDP TIE UP

A senior BJP leader and the party's only member of the Legislative Council (upper House) from Kashmir Sofi Yousuf told Mail Today, he would campaign for Mehbooba Mufti in Anantnag constituency.

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Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday filed the nomination papers for by-election to the Anantnag assembly constituency. A senior PDP leader Ajaz Mir, who is MLA from Wachi area of south Kashmir, said traditionally South Kashmir has remained the strong turf of PDP and Mehbooba would easily win the elections with a large margin. He dismissed opposition National Conference and Congress candidates as minions. "They have no political standing", he added.

Inspite of the confidence of the PDP that Mehbooba Mufti would win elections from the constituency hands down, the BJP wants to chip in to show that the alliance is working together at the grassroots level. "I am going to campaign door to door. In 2014 our candidate got 2,200 votes from the constituency. We can easily get support of 5,000 votes for chief minister and we will ask our voters to vote for Mehbooba Mufti", Sofi said. He said that the BJP believes in the vision of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, which Mehbooba Mufti has vowed to take forward and he would be seeking votes from the BJP workers on this account.

Sofi, who hails from South Kashmir's Srigufwara village, has remained with the BJP all along and has contested Assembly elections in 2002, 2008 and 2014, and Lok Sabha polls in 2004, 2009 and 2014 on tickets of the BJP.

Nine candidates have filed their nomination papers for the Anantnag constituency. The BJP has decided not to field any candidate

Also read: PDP lashes out at Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, separatists