Srinagar: With more than 80 percent fresh faces, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) is banking heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister to woo voters in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections.
BJP has so far released three lists of candidates for assembly polls. In contrast to its rivals, BJP has mostly fielded new faces, including newcomers who recently joined the party.
In Kashmir, new candidates including Shokwat Gayoor Andrabi, Arshid Bhat, Javed Ahmed Qadri, Rafiq Wani, Syed Wajahat, Sofi Yousuf, Veer Saraf are some of the fresh faces who will contest assembly elections on BJP ticket from the valley this year.
Similarly, the party has given preference to the fresh faces from Jammu also as candidates including Tariq Keen, Shagun Parihar, Daleep Singh Parihar, Gajay Singh Rana, Shakti Raj Parihar, Rakesh Thakur, and Salim Bhat will represent the party in their respective constituencies this assembly election.
As such the BJP claimed these fresh faces will sway voters given the party’s broader national image and governance track record.
“BJP is a national political party and has been there in power for nearly a decade. Our party had very good governance and people knew it. These fresh faces represent the party’s national vision. We are sure that people will vote them to power,” BJP’s state spokesperson Arun Gupta said.
He said the party will release its manifesto in two days which will clear the idea about fielding new candidates in assembly elections.
Party insiders said that these new candidates will be crucial in reaching out to younger voters and addressing the evolving concerns of the electorate in the Union Territory.
“The decision to field mostly fresh candidates is a calculated move to tap into new talent and bring forward leaders with a modern perspective. The combination of new leadership and our national achievements will play a pivotal role in winning the trust of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” a BJP leader said.
