BJP releases fourth list of 16 candidates for JK polls

NEW DELHI: BJP today announced its fourth list of 16 candidates, including 11 Muslims, for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.

For the 87-seat Assembly, the BJP has till now announced its nominees for 70 constituencies out of which 31 are Muslims.

After getting clearance from the party's Central Election Committee (CEC), the fourth list of candidates was announced which includes names of Mir Mushtaq Navshari for Uri, Draksha Andrabi for Sonawar, Jubair Nazir for Batamaloo, Fayaz Rahat for Badgam, Abdul Rasheed Bandey for Beerwah and Abdul Rahman Chopon for the Chrari Sharief constituency.

Other candidates who's names were declared in the list are Sardar Avtar Singh (Tral), Abdul Mohd Wagey (Pampore), Javed Ahmad Qadri (Shopian), Sohil Malik (Doru), Khursheed Ahmed Malik (Kokernag), Khalid Ahmed Dar (Shangus), P N Pandita (Bijbehara), Dr Devinder Manyal (Samba-SC), Kavinder Gupta (Gandhinagar) and Puran Singh from Darhal seat.

Buoyed by its success in Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly polls, the BJP is optimistic of performing well in the Assembly elections of Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand.

The party has also chalked out a strategy for Jammu and Kashmir and is working in close coordination with smaller regional parties. BJP is likely to carry along some moderate separatists in the Valley and may align with some of them after polls, sources in the party said.

The five-phased Assembly elections in the state will begin on November 25 and conclude on December 20. The results will be out on December 23.