The party, which has pledged to contest every seat in J&K, has so far announced seven candidates for the 15 seats in South Kashmir that will be contested in the first phase.

The BJP released its first list of 15 candidates for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, while leaving nine seats in south Kashmir, which will be contested in the first phase on September 18, unfilled. The deadline for filing nomination papers for this phase is Tuesday.

Initially, the BJP had announced a list of 44 candidates for Jammu and Kashmir but quickly withdrew it. The updated list now features 15 candidates for the first phase of polling.

Among the candidates are prominent figures such as senior Valley leader Sofi Mohammad Yousuf, former minister Sunil Sharma, and the party’s vice-president Shakti Raj Parihar. The BJP has pledged to contest all seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and so far has announced seven candidates for the 16 seats in south Kashmir up for election in the first phase.

Sofi Yousuf will contest from the Bijbehara constituency, a shift from his traditional Pahalgam base due to recent delimitation changes. He will face PDP’s Iltija Mufti. Additionally, Veer Saraf has been named for the Anantang East constituency, with candidates also announced for Pampore, Rajpora, Shopian, Anantnag, and Anantnag West.

However, the list does not include candidates for Pulwama, Tral, Kulgam, D H Pora, Devsar, Kokernag, Dooru, Pahalgam, and Zainpora.

In the Chenab Valley region, which will also be contested in the first phase, former minister Sunil Sharma has been nominated for the Padder constituency. Sharma, who previously won from Kishtwar in 2014, will now run in Padder. Shagun Parihar will contest from Kishtwar, while Shakti Raj Parihar is set to run from the Doda constituency.

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