SRINAGAR The BJP hopes to perform better in Jammu and Kashmir in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls than it did in the 2014 parliamentary elections, party’s national general secretary Ram Madhav said here on Tuesday.
He exuded confidence that the BJP will win all the three seats in Jammu and Ladakh and said the party was no longer an outsider in Kashmir.
The BJP is hopeful of getting a result better than what it got in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir, Madhav told reporters after a meeting with senior party leaders, including party candidates from the three seats in the valley, during which election preparations were reviewed.
Madhav, who is on a Jammu and Kashmir tour ahead of Modi’s campaign rally here on Thursday, also said abrogation of Article 370 and 35A of the Constitution along with eviction of Rohingyas and return of Kashmiri migrant pandits to the valley are part of the BJP’s manifesto.
“You will find these in our manifesto,” he said without commenting further when asked if his party still peruses these issues.
He said PM Modi has accorded high priority to the state and that is why he is visiting it on the first day of his poll campaign trail across the country.
“Jammu and Kashmir is very important to us. We have won three seats (Jammu, Udhampur and Ladakh) in 2014 and will retain these seats. We are also trying to strengthen our base in the valley,” said Madhav.
Lashing out at the Congress for seeking support of the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party in Jammu, he said, “You can understand the condition of the Congress which is banking on the support of these parties.”
“They (NC and PDP) are not ready to touch this party (the Congress) in Kashmir and the party pleaded before these parties in Jammu for support to fight against BJP,” he said.
“The Congress is dependent on the votes of NC and PDP in Jammu region because they won’t get any vote in the region. The entire vote will go to the BJP despite their alliance and we are confident of winning both the seats in Jammu region and the Ladakh seat with huge margins,” he said.
He said the BJP wants to strengthen democratic institutions in the state and wants an early assembly poll as well.
“We have strengthened the democratic system by having the Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies elections last year. Parliament elections are taking place and we have also demanded from Election Commission to hold early polls to the state assembly,” he said.
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