Trouble in paradise? J-K BJP leaders Kashmir Singh, Kanav Sharma resign in protest ahead of assembly elections

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jammu and Kashmir faced a significant setback on Saturday with the resignation of two prominent leaders just before the upcoming assembly elections. Kashmir Singh, the BJP’s Samba district president, resigned from the party’s primary membership in protest against the party’s decision to field former J&K minister Surjit Singh Slathia, who recently joined the BJP after leaving the National Conference (NC).

Expressing the feelings within

Expressing his discontent, Singh stated, "With a heavy heart, I am submitting my resignation from the primary membership of the party for which I have worked for 42 long years. I was compelled by the circumstances after the party gave a ticket to a person who had come from the National Conference and vociferously opposed our ideology for decades." Slathia, who served as a minister in the Congress-NC coalition government led by Omar Abdullah, switched to the BJP in 2021.

Kashmir Singh, recalling his dedication to the party, told media, "We strengthened the BJP in Samba and made numerous sacrifices to carry forward the ideology of Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee and the BJP. We held demonstrations and organized strikes for the revocation of Article 370, and the ticket was given to the one who was always against our ideology and the revocation of Article 370. This is not justice with ordinary workers."

Jammu and Kashmir issue  

Singh’s resignation letter to J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina mentioned that he would reconsider his resignation if a senior BJP member replaced Slathia. He warned, “Otherwise, I am going to take forward this struggle and file my nomination papers as an independent candidate against him.” In another blow to the party, BJYM leader Kanav Sharma resigned, protesting the party’s decision to field Yudhvir Sethi from Jammu East.

Sharma, the Jammu district chief of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, criticized Sethi for alleged corrupt practices during his wife Priya Sethi’s tenure as education minister, stating, "I hereby tender my resignation along with my team members, and my team is dissolved with immediate effect." The assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the first in a decade, are scheduled for September 18, 25, and October 1, with vote counting on October 4.