A new chapter has been written in Kashmir's politcal history after the BJP gave tickets to 14 Muslims for the Jammu & Kashmir assembly polls to be held in five phases, starting November 25.
The BJP released a list of 45 candidates, out of whom 14 are Muslims. A dental surgeon, a prominent Gujjar leader, a National COnference rebel are among the Muslim faces, representing the party. They will take on the biggies of three major parties—National Conference, Congress and People's Democratic Party—in the upcoming polls.
Dr Hina Bhat, a 34-year-old dental surgeon, whose father Mohommad Shafi Bhat was the only National Conference (NC) politician to join the poll fray in 1990 when Kashmir singed in militant fire, is a BJP candidate from Amira Kadal in the heart of Srinagar.
Her father had contested and won the seat on a National Conference ticket in 1996, before he switched to the Congress after he was denied another ticket. Bhat won the seat in 2002 on a Congress ticket before his health deteriorated, leaving him bedridden.
Eshfaq-ur Rehman Poswal, a prominent Gujjar leader will be the BJP's candidate from Karnah consituency in the border district of Kupwara. Chaudhary Talib Hussan, a former NC minister will be the party's candidate from Rajouri in Jammu division.
In fact, BJP state vice-president Vibodh Gupta, who had lost the 2008 elections from Rajouri by just 1,300 votes, left the seat for Talib "in the greater interest" of the party in order to fulfil 'mission 44', required for BJP to come to power in the state.
"These are good beginings for the party. We were taunted earlier by being called the party of one and half districts. But, now this party will rule this state. And today BJP has proved that we represent every strata of society in J&K", Gupta told dna.
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