Even as the Election Commission of India issued notification for the last and third phase of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, suspense still prevailed over candidates of the Congress party for the majority of the seats of crucial Jammu, Samba, Kathua, and Udhampur districts.
In these four districts, Congress's stakes are very high because there is a direct fight between two national parties over the majority of the seats.
While the ruling BJP has already announced candidates for most of the Assembly segments of these four districts, Congress has yet to finalize its list of candidates due to a lack of consensus among senior leaders.
Out of the 24 Assembly seats of Jammu province, which will go for poll on October 1, BJP has announced candidates for 20 segments. The Saffron Party is likely to finalize candidates for the remaining four seats namely Bahu, Marh, Bishnah, and Udhampur East.
As far as Congress is concerned, the repeated meetings of the party's Central Election Committee are going on but no decision has been taken regarding names of the candidates.
So far, the Congress has announced fifteen candidates for the first and second phases of the election but still needs to decide on 22 candidates for the crucial and final phase.
The party is going to contest 32 seats in alliance with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) bloc partners while engaging in a "friendly contest" with the National Conference in five constituencies.
Despite the BJP having already announced its candidates with only minor adjustments, the Congress has delayed releasing its list for the third phase.
Insiders suggest that the Congress leadership is concerned about a potential backlash within the party, similar to what the BJP recently experienced.
Sources indicate that most Congress ticket aspirants have flocked to New Delhi, leveraging their resources and influence to secure nominations. Although the party initially planned to release the list for the final phase on September 4, the announcement has been delayed without any official explanation.
BJP's Parliamentary Board to take final decision on four seats
While the BJP has announced candidates for the majority of the seats of Jammu province, discussions are going on at the national level to select nominees for four seats. These four seats included two reserved for the Scheduled Castes. Assembly constituencies of Marh and Bishnah are reserved for the SCs. Udhampur East and Bahu are open seats.
Notification for the final phase of elections issued
The Election Commission of India (ECI) today issued an election notification for the third phase of the Assembly elections in J&K. A total of 40 Assembly Constituencies in the districts of Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipora, Udhampur, Kathua, Samba, and Jammu shall go to polls in the third and final phase of elections on October 1.
