Elections In J-K After Delimitation, ST Seats Will Be Reserved For Gujjars, Bakarwals: JP Nadda

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) working president JP Nadda on Sunday said that elections will be conducted in Jammu & Kashmir, which has been made a Union Territory, only after delimitation. He also said that Schedule Tribe (ST) will be provided political reservation which in turn will benefit the Gujjar and Bakarwal community of the state. Gujjar and Bakerwal communities were given Scheduled Tribe status long ago in the state but were denied benefits of being STs.

“J&K has been made a Union Territory but they have been given the powers of a legislature. There will be elections, but before that, there will be delimitation, ST seats will be reserved for Gujjars and Bakarwals in both Valley and Jammu,” Nadda was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

J P Nadda, BJP Working President in Thane: J&K has been made a Union Territory but they have been given the powers of a legislature. There will be elections, but before that there will be delimitation, ST seats will be reserved for Gujjars and Bakarwals in both Valley and Jammu. pic.twitter.com/gx5CyAhQOV

— ANI (@ANI) September 15, 2019

Recently, Nadda met retired Army officers - who have served in Jammu and Kashmir, as part of the BJP's outreach campaign on scrapping Article 370.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader visited the home of Lt. General (retd) Vishambhar Singh, where he met some other retired officers as well.

"The issue was continuing for years. Separatism flourished in Jammu and Kashmir due to the Article 370 status,” he told reporters later, referring to the recent abrogation of J&K's special status.

Nadda was accompanied by Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Gulab Chand Kataria, BJP state unit's organisational general secretary Chandra Shekhar and former state unit presidents Arun Chaturvedi and Ashok Parnami.

The BJP has embarked on a month-long 'Sampark and Janjagran Abhiyan' exercise to seek people's support on the decision to end Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 of the Constitution, with its leaders and workers asked to fan out across the country to hold meetings.

The Union government on August 5 abrogated provisions of Article 370, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.