Speculation rife about BJP’s plans not to field candidates on 3 Kashmir seats

‘Not in hurry to see lotus bloom in Kashmir, BJP believes in winning hearts’: Amit Shah

Jammu: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday hinted that the BJP may not field its candidates on the three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir, saying “the party is not in a hurry to see the lotus bloom in the Valley as it believes in winning hearts instead of capturing the land of Kashmir by force”.
“They are creating a misgiving among Kashmiri youths that the BJP people want to capture the land of Kashmir by force. I want to make it clear that the BJP is not among those who occupy land by force but believes in winning the hearts of people. We are not in a hurry to see the lotus bloom in the Valley. Whenever we find your love, lotus will bloom on its own in the Valley,” Shah said while addressing a mammoth “Jan Aashriwad Rally '' in support of the BJP candidate from Jammu seat Jugal Kishore Sharma here.
Shah’s remarks has come against the backdrop of the narrative being built by opposition parties, particularly the National Conference and PDP, among Kashmir youths that the BJP wants to open its account in Kashmir by winning the newly carved prestigious Anantnag-Rajouri seat through proxy candidates. The opposition parties alleged that the Saffron party was more interested in the land of Kashmir than the welfare of its people.
The last date for filing nominations for Anantnag-Rajouri seat, which is going to be polls in the third phase of elections on May 7, is April 19. The BJP is yet to nominate its candidate for the seat. A triangular contest is imminent on the seat as the National Conference has fielded its veteran leader Mian Altaf from the seat while former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti is also contesting from
“Our brethren from Gujjar and Bakerwal communities have come to attend the rally even though it is not being held in their area. They are the true followers of Modi ji. I want to make a fervent appeal to the people of Kashmir that they should not vote in favour of three dynastic political parties, Omar Abdullah’s National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP and Sonia Gandhi’s Congress party because they always cared about their daughters and sons.
“These three dynastic parties always remained concerned about the interests of their own flesh and blood and not the public. Farooq Sahib, Mehbooba ji, and Sonia Gandhi… They work for their sons and daughters, not for the people. These parties did not allow democracy to grow in Jammu and Kashmir... on the pretext of security, our Kashmiri youths were exploited,” Shah said.
The Union Home Minister also struck an emotional chord with the people of Jammu, saying “you have made me wear Dogra turban and it is now your duty to keep the honour of this turban (by ensuring the victory of BJP in Lok Sabha polls)”.
“These parties had disrespected the Dogra and Dogri community by never honoring Maharaja Hari Singh. BJP declared a holiday on his birth anniversary and showed respect to him. During the time of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, there was a prolonged struggle for the Dogri language. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee included Dogri in the Eighth Schedule, and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared Dogri as an official language of Jammu and Kashmir, thereby honoring the Dogra community,” he said.

Updated On 4/17/2024 12:34:00 AM