Nominated MLAs to be from saffron party, says leader

With the opposition parties in J&K attacking the BJP on the issue of nomination of five candidates to the Assembly, BJP leader Sofi Mohammad Yousuf on Monday claimed that they will be from his party.

“All the nominated members are from the BJP. It is our government at the Centre. Whoever is in the government, the (nominated) candidates will also be theirs,” Yousuf said.

“They all are BJP members. They include Ashok Koul, Rajni Sethi, Dr Farida Khan and Sunil Sethi. The fifth is a refugee, Rajni Geeta Thakur,” he said, adding that one of the members, Dr Farida Khan, is from Kashmir’s Sopore.

Asked if the names have been approved, Yousuf said “It has been stamped already. We are already winning five seats.”

Asked about Sofi Yousuf’s claims, BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur, however, said that it was the L-G who has to recommend names and BJP has no role in it. “It might be his (Yousuf’s) personal statement. We don’t know anything about it,” he said.