Omar Abdullah dares BJP announce CM candidate

Srinagar, Dec 10: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah dared BJP to announce their chief ministerial candidate in the upcoming elections.

Omar Abdullah, currenlty opposition leader in J&K Assembly, "Today I challenge BJP to clearly say who will be their CM candidate in the upcoming elections because they have cheated people of Jammu twice. The people of Jammu deserve to know whom BJP will make CM if they give 25-26 MLAs to BJP."

"I don't think the people of Jammu are ready to be deceived once again. That is why BJP is escaping elections, " he said in Jammu.

The November 21, decision of Governor Satya Pal Malik paved the way for imposition of governor's rule in the state. Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP, the National Conference (NC) and the Congress had made a fresh attempt at government formation on November 21, after nearly five months of political uncertainty.

The Election Commission, which has to hold fresh Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir before 21 May, is likely to club it with the Lok Sabha elections due in 2019, highly-placed sources in the poll panel, reported PTI. The state Assembly was kept under suspended animation since June when Governor's Rule was imposed after the BJP ended its alliance with the PDP.

The state Assembly was dissolved by Governor Satya Pal Malik on 21 November citing the "impossibility of forming a stable government by the coming together of political parties with opposing political ideologies" and the "fragile security scenario in the state".

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has a six-year term while other assemblies and the Lok Sabha have a five-year term.