Jammu/New Delhi: The BJP on Sunday released a fresh list of 10 candidates for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, replacing ex-deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta with former member of legislative council (MLC) Vikram Randhawa from Bahu seat of Jammu district.
Gupta was elected from Gandhi Nagar, renamed as Bahu assembly segment, in 2014 elections.
With the release of the sixth list for the third phase of elections, the BJP has so far named 62 candidates, including 20 for the Kashmir Valley, where the BJP is yet to open its account in assembly elections.
Randhawa found himself embroiled in controversies on three occasions between 2019 and 2021, leading to filing of two FIRs against him at separate police stations in Ladakh and Jammu and also forcing him to tender an unconditional public apology to Union minister Jitendra Singh for levelling baseless allegations of corruption against him.
The BJP’s fresh list of candidates also included former MLA R S Pathania who was fielded from Udhampur East and former bureaucrat Bharat Bhushan from Kathua, doctor-turned-politician Rajeev Bhagat from Bishnah and Surinder Bhagat from Marh – the three seats reserved for Scheduled Caste community.
Both Kathua and Marh had been won by BJP’s Rajiv Jasrotia and Sukh Nandan Kumar in 2014 assembly elections.
Bhushan, posted as director, social welfare, Jammu, took voluntary retirement on September 7.
In Kashmir valley, the BJP fielded Mohd Idrees Karnahi from Karnah, Ghulam Mohammad Mir (Handwara), Abdul Rashid Khan (Sonawari), Naseer Ahmad Lone (Bandipora) and Faqir Mohammad Khan (Gurez-Scheduled Tribe reserved seat).
In May 2019, an FIR was registered against Randhawa, the then BJP’s Ladakh in-charge, for allegedly trying to bribe journalists in Leh. Two years later, he had to submit an unconditional public apology to party colleague and Union minister for levelling false allegations of corruption against him, a day before hearing of a defamation suit filed by Singh against him in a Delhi court.
In November 2021, the J&K BJP unit removed Randhawa from the post of secretary over his derogatory remarks against Kashmiri Muslims.
The Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, having 90 assembly constituencies, will go to polls in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1.
