Jammu/Srinagar: As Election Commission of India (ECI) has set in motion the preparations for holding assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir sometime in future, the political parties here are jumping the gun with poll-centeric vocabulary.
Batting strongly for collectivism and better coordination at all levels in the party, National Conference president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Friday said the party is set to fight a multi-front battle in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Srinagar MP also exhorted party functionaries to amplify their efforts to reach out to wider sections of society across the Union Territory.
“As far as the NC is concerned, it is set to fight a multi-front battle (in Jammu and Kashmir),” Abdullah said while interacting with a number of delegations at his residence at Jammu.
Elaborating on the multi-front battle, he said, “On one front, we have to strive for an atmosphere, where basic needs of our people, including development and job creation, are addressed. On the other front it has to keep up its peaceful and constitutional fight for the restoration of people’s abridged rights”.
The former chief minister said the “NC has long been associated with the real political aspirations of the people” and they are looking towards the party to protect Jammu and Kashmir’s cultural, social, political frontiers and cultural individuality as ever before.
“To achieve this goal, the party’s moves have to be marked by collectivism and better coordination at all levels,” he told the NC functionaries.
Abdullah exhorted the party functionaries to amplify their efforts to reach out to wider sections of society across Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that for the NC to deepen its roots ever more than before, “it is imperative for our functionaries to value the party workers”.
“Strengthening of the bottom-up model holds the key towards making the party stronger to take on the challenges in the future”, he added.
Meanwhile, exhorting party leaders to walk the extra mile to reach out to the people, Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina on Friday said the party is all set to form the government in the union territory with “full majority”.
Raina said the party will ensure that the nation is strengthened, both internally and externally, and is ready to lead the world.
“With dedicated efforts of the BJP leaders, the party is all set to form government with full majority in Jammu and Kashmir on its own,” Raina told the party members at a workshop.
The three-day workshop for office-bearers, leaders and members is being held at a health resort at Patnitop in Udhampur district to discuss and brainstorm various issues confronting the government and the country.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) today said that its president, Alraf Bukhari will contest forthcoming assemble elections from two constituencies.
JKAP tweeted that Bukhari will contest from Chanpora in Srinagar district and from Uri in Baramulla district.
On Thursday, Union minister Jitendra Singh said it was for the Election Commission (EC) to decide when assembly polls would be held in Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ever ready for elections.
The EC has set in motion the preparations for holding assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, the first since the Centre revoked its special status and made it a Union territory in August 2019.
The Election Commission will publish the finalised electoral rolls of Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, the Union Territory’s first voters’ list after the boundaries of the assembly seats were redrawn.
