In an unusual flip-flop, the BJP withdrew its first list of 44 candidates for the 3-phase assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir minutes after releasing it on Monday morning without assigning any reason before re-issuing two lists containing names of 16 candidates.

The list has triggered discontent at the grassroots level as it contained names of many who joined the BJP from other parties recently. Several BJP activists stormed into the party headquarters here protesting against the denial of a ticket to the “original” party man who had been working among the masses for the past five years when J&K was downgraded as a union territory (UT) in 2019.

Reports of annoyance among the party activists were pouring in from the Poonch and Rajouri districts where tickets had been given to at least three persons who joined the BJP a couple of days ago after quitting the National Conference (NC), PDP, and other parties.

This was the first noisy protest in the BJP office here in the past ten years.

The two lists contain names of only eight candidates from south Kashmir leaving open the other eight seats of politically vibrant region.

UT BJP chief Ravinder Raina rushed to the BJP office to pacify the protestors raising slogans against the selection of candidates, particularly for a seat in Jammu city. Assuring a resolution of the issue through mutual dialogue, he told the irate party workers to maintain discipline as the BJP is known for decorum and decency.

Tuesday is the last day for filing nominations for the first phase of polling on 18 September.

The new and the withdrawn lists excluded names of two top BJP leaders, former deputy chief ministers Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta.

NC’s provincial president Devender Singh Rana, who joined the BJP some time back, was included for the Nagrota seat in the deleted list. Rana is the younger brother of Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh and polling for the Nagrota seat will be held in the later phase.

The new list contains names of the same candidates who figured in the deleted list. It is understood that the party functionaries were supposed to release only the first phase list and release the other two lists of the second and third phases after the notification for these two phases was issued by the election commission.

Releasing the revised list, national general secretary of BJP Arun Singh stated that the list of candidates for the second and third phases of the Assembly elections would be considered “null and void”. The list issued for the candidates for all the three phases has been withdrawn”

Later, a list containing 15 names and another with only one name, that of Choudhary Roshan Hussain Gujjar, for the Kokernag constituency of south Kashmir was issued.

The BJP has fielded its top valley leader, Sofi Mohammad Yousuf from the Bijbehara constituency against PDP’s Iltija Mufti, who is the daughter of the former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. The party also announced candidates for Pampore, Rajpora, Shopian, Anantnag West, Anantnag, Kokernag, and Anantnag East.

In the Chenab valley region of Jammu, the saffron party fielded Tariq Keen on the Inderwal seat from where Ghulam Nabi Azad’s trusted GM Saroori has been winning the assembly election. Azad is yet to announce his DPAP’s candidate for Inderwal. Former BJP minister Sunil Sharma, who won the Kishtwar seat in the earlier election, has now been shifted to Paddar. The party has replaced Sharma with the lone woman candidate in the list, Shagun Parihar, whose father and uncle were gunned down by terrorists.

The BJP’s Central Election Committee had met on Sunday evening to finalize the party’s candidates. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda were present in the meeting

The Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections will be held in three phases on 18 and 25 September and 1 and October, Counting of votes is scheduled on 4 October.