Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir to take place soon, says Union Minister

Jitendra Singh announces upcoming Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, highlighting BJP's development agenda and restored normalcy.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on April 22 said that Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be held soon and the people of the Union Territory are enthusiastic about participating in the electoral process to support the BJP's development agenda.

Speaking to PTI, he asserted that normalcy has been restored in J&K but the opposition parties were involved in a "wrong" portrayal of the ground situation after the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 which gave a special status to the erstwhile State.

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"Opposition parties are engaged in a wrong portrayal of the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Normalcy has been restored in Jammu and Kashmir after scrapping Article 370. Elections in Jammu and Kashmir will happen soon, as stated by Prime Minister Modi in a recent rally in Udhampur. It has to happen and it will happen soon," the BJP leader said.

There is no elected government in Jammu and Kashmir since the BJP withdrew from its coalition with the PDP in 2018. It has been under the Centre's rule, which also saw the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and J&K being divided into two Union Territories.

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The Supreme Court had in December last upheld the government's decision to abrogate Article 370 and said steps should be taken to conduct the election to the Union Territory's Assembly by September 30, 2024.