J&K Polls: With the voting for the Jammu and Kasmir starting on September 18, the political parties have thrown their weight behind the candidates. Star campaigners of all parties have hit the ground in the valley. While the BJP fielded only 19 candidates in the valley out of the total 47 seats, the party is looking to get support from independents and some regional parties as it’s confident of winning a majority of the 43 seats in the Jammu region. 

A bail to Baramulla MP Er Rashid has given the National Conference a chance to corner the BJP. The NC has claimed that Er Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) is the ‘B’ team of the BJP. Meanwhile, the AIP has formed an alliance with the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) for the assembly polls. There are a total of 90 seats in the J&K and the majority mark is 46.

The BJP is aware that it might not get a majority on its own and thus, it has its eye on some smaller regional parties and independent candidates as well. There are seven regional parties and 32 independent candidates in the poll fray and have the potential to win the elections. 

According to a TOI report, the BJP has made it clear that it doesn’t have a ‘tacit’ understanding with the UAPA detainee Er Rashid and his party AIP. The BJP leaders also claimed that the Central government vociferously opposed Rashid’s bail. They also made clear that the Union government won’t lift the ban from the Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir. The BJP made it clear that it won’t ally with the AIP.

The Union Home Minister Amit Shah has already promised that the state will get statehood at an appropriate time after the polls. The J&K is heading to polls for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370.