As anxiety mounts among opposition parties regarding the five members to be nominated to the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, BJP vice-president Sofi Yousuf has stated that all nominees will be from the BJP, even naming the five individuals.

Of the proposed nominees, four are from the Jammu region, while one hails from Kashmir. Dr. Fareeda Khan, the Kashmir BJP leader, has confirmed that she was approached by the party regarding her nomination.

According to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019 and its 2023 amendment, three of the five nominated members must be women.

In a video interview with the local newspaper Greater Kashmir on the eve of the Assembly poll results, Yousuf remarked, “Among them is Ashok Koul ji, the BJP state secretary; Rajni Sethi, who previously served as the state president of the BJP Mahila Morcha; Dr. Fareeda Khan, state secretary; and Sunil Sethi, the chairman of our disciplinary committee and chief spokesperson. The fifth nominee is a refugee and the president of our Mahila Morcha. All of them are ours.”

Yousuf asserted that the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha would decide on the nominated members based on the Union Home Ministry’s advice, emphasizing that there is nothing wrong with the government nominating BJP leaders.

The addition of these five members would increase the strength of the J&K Assembly to 95, with the majority mark set at 48. Exit polls suggest that no party, including the leading NC-Congress coalition, will approach this threshold.

“Central government hamari hai New Delhi mein. Jiss ki sarkar, ussi ke naam jayenge (In New Delhi, the Central government is ours. The names will come from the party in power),” Yousuf declared. “I am putting my stamp on it. These five MLAs are ours.”

Without naming anyone, Yousuf also claimed that many Independent candidates and smaller parties contesting are aligned with the BJP. This marks the first public statement from the party, although opposition parties have accused the BJP of supporting these candidates to fragment the anti-BJP vote.

Dr. Fareeda Khan expressed uncertainty about her nomination, stating, “I have been told about it,” but emphasized that confirmation from the Lieutenant Governor’s office is necessary. “It has been confirmed from here (the party), but when it gets confirmed from there (the LG office), then only it means something.”

However, the BJP leaders mentioned by Yousuf denied any knowledge of their nominations. Sunil Sethi called the news “media speculation” and said there was “nothing official or authentic” regarding it. Similarly, Rajni Sethi stated she had received no official notice about her potential nomination.

Sources indicated that senior BJP leaders and RSS officials held a joint meeting on Monday evening in Jammu to discuss the panel of nominees to be sent to the Centre. They confirmed that the final decision lies with the Home Ministry, which will recommend the names to the Lieutenant Governor.

Opposition parties have contested this process, arguing that nominations should be made solely on the “aid and advice” of the government set to take over, rather than before it does so.

Yousuf asserted, “You should know that we had 19 candidates contesting on our BJP ticket (in the Valley), among whom three or four are winning. There are also Independent candidates whom we are supporting. They have been with us from the beginning… There are also smaller parties that will secure five to ten seats. The BJP will form a government on its own.”

Yousuf is contesting from the Bijbehara constituency in South Kashmir against the PDP’s Iltija Mufti and the National Conference’s Dr. Bashir Ahmad Veeri.

On Monday, NC president Farooq Abdullah stated they would approach the Supreme Court if the Lieutenant Governor proceeded with the MLA nominations. He argued that it should be the new government’s responsibility to make these nominations, not the Lieutenant Governor’s.

Iltija Mufti criticized the situation, questioning whether any lessons had been learned from the alleged rigging of the 1987 elections, which ignited militancy in J&K. “Might as well have nominated all 90 members (of the Assembly) instead. Why even hold elections? The 1987’s stolen election took J&K to the brink,” she posted on X.