SRINAGAR: With BJP not fielding candidates in eight of the 16 Assembly seats in the Valley in first phase of polling in Jammu & Kashmir on September 18, and is likely to field only 15 candidates from 47 seats in Kashmir, there is discontent among the party ranks as loyalists feel hard done by party giving mandate to “parachute” candidates and sparing seats for like-minded candidates and parties.Of the 24 Assembly seats going to polls in the first phase, the party has announced 16 candidates. It has named candidates for all eight seats in Jammu region, while of the 16 seats in the Valley, it has named eight candidates and left as many seats for like-minded candidates. Kashmir spokesman Altaf Thakur from Tral constituency in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district also has failed to get the mandate. Thakur is among the founding members of the party and had stayed with the party even after Article 370 abrogation.Several leaders are unhappy over the party’s apparent “disrespect” to its senior members by not giving them a mandate. “The pinnacle of the political leader or activist is contesting the elections. We had toiled very hard for this day and braving all odds and challenges, had promoted BJP’s viewpoint in the Valley. Our work is different from our colleagues in Jammu or other parts of the country. We have braved militancy here. But the party’s response at the key moment has left us disappointed,” said a senior leader.
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