Srinagar: The Janata Dal-United (JD-U) J&K unit claims that it will get one of the five MLA berths in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly through nomination under the J&K Reorganization (amendment) Act-2023.
The addition of the five members to be nominated by the J&K Lieutenant Governor will bring the total strength of the J&K Legislative Assembly to 95.
Talking about the development, JD-U J&K president GM Shaheen said since his party is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the Centre, they have been “assured that one of the five LG nominees to the J&K Legislative Assembly will be from the JD-U J&K”.
The likely nomination of a JD-U lawmaker, according to Shaheen, will aid the unit get representation in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
“We should wait for the formal confirmation as I have been informed that the J&K unit of JD-U will be nominated for one of the five seats in the upcoming assembly by the Lieutenant Governor,” Shaheen told ‘Kashmir Images’.
As the J&K union territory is directly administered by the Centre, Shaheen claimed that the elected government in Jammu and Kashmir will have less authority than those of the other Indian states.
With regard to the would-be chief minister Omar Abdullah’s recent statement that it would be “foolishness” to anticipate reintroduction of Article 370 under the same Central government that scrapped the former state’s special status, Shaheen claimed it would be difficult for the new administration to last even a year.
“Everyone knows who said what before and after the elections, but since the J&K UT is directly under the control of the central government, the new government will have less power to act. They have to follow the center’s orders,” the JD-U leader said, adding, “it would be difficult for the new government to last even one year”.
