BJP to hold meetings soon to elect LoP in J&K Assembly: Ravinder Raina

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina felicitated the the newly-elected party MLAs here on Monday and said the leader of opposition will soon be selected after holding meetings with party leaders under the command of central observers.

BJP national general secretary and in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir Tarun Chugh, who has been appointed as a central observer by the party, said they will hold meetings with the newly-elected legislators and other leaders on the issue and submit a report to central leaders for further action.

Led by Raina, several senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including former deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh, MP Jugal Kishore and working president of the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit Sat Paul Sharma, felicitated the MLAs by offering them chunari and flowers.

"In the coming days, the BJP will hold meetings of leaders and the elected members under central observers Prahlad Joshiji and Tarun Chughji. The future strategy of the party in Jammu and Kashmir will also be discussed," Raina told reporters.

Replying to a question on the selection of the LoP, he said the process will be initiated soon.

Talking to reporters, Chugh said "the constitutional process will be followed".

Raina said the Assembly polls have been held and the President's rule has been revoked in the Union Territory for the formation of a new government.

"The BJP performed well in the election. I congratulate all the MLAs," he added.

Thanking the people of the Union Territory, particularly those from the Jammu region, Raina said, "People voted and supported the BJP enthusiastically in this election, electing 29 MLAs. We secured nearly 26 per cent of the vote share. I thank people for their support."

Pointing out that this was the BJP's best poll performance in Jammu and Kashmir in terms of vote share as well as number of seats, he said. "I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, besides others whose blessings and campaigning helped this happen."

The BJP bagged 29 seats in the recently-concluded Assembly polls, its highest in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2014, the party had won 25 seats.

The saffron party's vote share was also the highest among all the parties at 25.5 per cent, followed by the National Conference (23.4 per cent), Congress (11.9 per cent) and People's Democratic Alliance (8.8 per cent).

The NC-Congress alliance emerged victorious in the polls.