BJP appoints Khanna as J&K poll in-charge

The BJP on Wednesday appointed it is vice president Avinash Rai Khanna as election in-charge for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, scheduled for which has not been announced yet and decided to intensify its membership drive in the state. Making the announcement, BJP general secretary Arun Singh said the party will work towards roping-in members at every booth, an indication that the saffron party will go all out to make its presence felt in the Valley, a region where it has traditionally been an insignificant force.

Khanna is also the party's in-charge for the state's organizational affairs. The appointment comes a day after the BJP working president J P Nadda chaired a meeting of the party's Jammy and Kashmir unit core group.

The Election Commission is likely to announce the poll schedule after the Amarnath Yatra is over, with official sources indicating that the elections may be held in October-November. Sources in the BJP said that the party will also hoist the national flag in panchayats across the state on Independence Day in a bid to spread nationalism, especially in militancy-hit Kashmir.

Briefing reporters on the core group's meeting, Singh said the party hailed the Narendra Modi government's policy of "zero-tolerance against terrorism" and its emphasis on pushing development projects in the state. The party will seek votes in the name of these policies, he said.

The BJP under its ongoing membership drive has already enrolled over 2.37 lakh new members and has decided to appoint 5000 active members, who will be tasked with more demanding organizational responsibilities, he said. Citing an example, Singh said the party has inducted over 6000 new members in Karnah, an assembly constituency in Kupwara district of Kashmir which borders Pakistan.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh and Ram Madhav, the party's general secretary and pointsman for Jammu and Kashmir besides the state party chief Ravinder Raina and other senior state leaders were present in the meeting.