New Delhi: BJP leader Ashok Koul on Sunday stated that the party's parliamentary board would announce candidates for the three Lok Sabha constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking to reporters, BJP general secretary (J&K) Ashok Koul said, "The decision on candidates is taken by the parliamentary board which is headed by Prime Minister Modi. The elections in Kashmir are scheduled in later phases, so we still have time to announce the candidates. So far the party has announced candidates for around 250 constituencies only," reported PTI.
Responding to queries about potential support for the grand alliance emerging in Kashmir, Koul emphasized that the BJP would contest all three seats in the valley independently.
"We will be fielding candidates on all three seats and we are not supporting any alliance. The alliance that is coming up or is going to come up, it is their thinking. There are so many alliances which have come up in the country, we cannot stop anyone," he said, as per the PTI report.
Koul affirmed that BJP workers would adhere to the decision made by the parliamentary board regarding this matter.
There is speculation that the BJP might not field candidates in the Lok Sabha constituencies in Kashmir and instead support a joint candidate from an anti-National Conference and anti-PDP front, the PTI report added.
There have been indications that the DPAP led by Ghulam Nabi Azad and the Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari could forge a pre-poll alliance for these seats.
Previously, several individuals from Pulwama and Budgam districts joined the BJP at its headquarters in the region.
The Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in five phases with voting in each of the five parliamentary constituencies of the Union Territory to be held in each phase, according to the poll schedule announced by the Election Commission on March 16.