Pressure Mounts On BJP To Back Rather For G’bal seat

Srinagar : After Jammu, discontent is boiling up among the Bhartiya Janta Party workers in Kashmir valley, with several activists of the party who have worked to establish the organisation in the valley being denied tickets.
Workers of the party from Ganderbal who wished not to be named said that the party leadership needs to take the voices of people on the ground seriously and not ignore them. A growing chorus of voices from Ganderbal is demanding that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gives mandate to Gh Hassan Rather, a former district president of the BJP in Ganderbal. Rather, who has been an active participant in the region’s political landscape for over two decades, has built a significant base for the party in the district. Rather’s political journey began in 1999 with the BJP, although he briefly joined the National Conference (NC) in 2002, followed by a stint with the Democratic Party Nationalist under the leadership of Gh Hassan Mir in 2009.
In 2012, he became a part of the Socialistic Democratic Party led by Darakshan Andrabi. Since 2014, Rather has remained with the BJP, solidifying his position within the party. In 2019, Rather was appointed as the district president of the BJP in Ganderbal, a role he held until 2022. Currently, he serves as an executive member of the BJP for Jammu and Kashmir, further emphasizing his prominent role within the party, however, the party workers are apprehensive that he might be denied a ticket. “The party must know that Rather’s extensive experience and deep connections within Ganderbal make him the ideal candidate to represent the district,” they told The Kashmiriyat. They called upon the BJP leadership to recognize his contributions and grant him the party’s mandate for the upcoming elections.