Jammu, Apr 17: WILL IT OR WILL IT NOT?
This intriguing question is there for all who are keenly engaged in guessing game vis-a-vis Bharatiya Janata Party’s decision to contest from Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar and Baramulla seats.
“We cannot give an official statement upon this so far as there is no (official) communication from the party to us, on this account,” J&K BJP senior leader and chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi told Greater Kashmir, when asked if BJP finally decided not to enter poll fray in Kashmir, not even in case of Anantnag-Rajouri seat.
Amid reports quoting anonymous sources that BJP will not contest from Anantnag-Rajouri or for that matter, not from Srinagar and Baramulla seats, Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on April 16 in Jammu rally that the party was “not in a hurry to see lotus blooming in Kashmir” intensified speculations.
In a new twist to the conundrum, DPAP announced that the former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad would not contest from Anantnag-Rajouri and named a new nominee.
NOW WHAT?
“Wait and watch,” was Sethi’s answer, when pointed out that April 19 would be the last day for filing nomination for Anantnag-Rajouri seat.
Is there any meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board scheduled in a day or two for deciding party candidates (for Kashmir along with other parts of the country)?
“Parliamentary Board can sit in (New) Delhi anytime. But there is no official communication to us whether we’re contesting or we’re not contesting. We’ll have to wait for official communication,” Sethi said, in response to this question.