Turning Kishtwar into tourism hub top priority: BJP’s lone woman MLA

BJP leader Shagun Parihar, who became the party’s only woman candidate to win the J&K Assembly elections from the Kishtwar constituency, outlined her priorities and objectives and also explained why she wants to ‘stay grounded’ for serving the people.

Shagun said her first priority as MLA would be to transform Kishtwar from being a ‘terrorism hotbed’ to a tourism hub. “Kishtwar, despite its beautiful landscape and picturesque locations, has turned into a terrorism hotbed over the past few years. Our biggest priority would be to save our people and residents from the terror threats,” she said.

29-year-old Shagun won the Kishtwar seat by beating veteran National Conference leader and former minister Sajad Ahmed Kitchloo by a margin of 521 votes. Five years ago, she battled the biggest turmoil in her personal life as her father Ajit Parihar and uncle Anil Parihar, a district BJP leader, were killed by terrorists.

When questioned about facing threats after her victory, she said that she won’t get intimidated by any terror threat as she has seen enough of this since childhood.

“We have been receiving threats since childhood, my father and uncle were brutally killed by terrorists. We won’t get intimidated by any threats,” she said.

She also said that her victory was an honour for those who sacrificed their lives fighting terrorism and protecting the country.

Notably, PM Modi in his Doda rally on September 14, also referred to her tragic past and described her as a ‘living example of the BJP’s resolve to end terrorism’ in the Union Territory.

She further said that after being elected as people’s representative, she would like to emulate her father. She wants to stay grounded so that people feel a personal connection with her and unhesitatingly share their problems with her.

In the recently concluded polls, Shagun Parhar garnered 29,053 votes in the Muslim-dominated seat as against NC’s two-time MLA Sajjad Kichloo’s 28,532 votes.