New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Sunday released a list of 10 candidates for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, fielding RS Pathania from Udhampur East and Naseer Ahmad Lone from Bandipora.
The three-phase elections to the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir assembly will be held on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The results will be declared on October 4.
According to the BJP's sixth candidates' list, Faqir Mohammad Khan will contest from the Gurez Scheduled Tribe (ST) reserved seat, Abdul Rasheed Khan from Sonawari and Ghulam Mohammad Mir from Handwara.
Bharat Bhushan will contest the election from Kathua, Rajeev Bhagat from Bishnah and Surinder Bhagat from Marh. These three assembly seats are reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC).
The BJP has named Vikram Randhawa as its candidate from the Bahu assembly seat.
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Beirut: Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Kassem on Friday (August 15, 2025) vowed that the Iran-backed group would not lay down its weapons, criticising the Lebanese government’s recent decision to disarm the group by the end of the year, according to a report published by The Hindu. Speaking during a televised address marking a Shiite religious event, Kassem said the move “serves Israel’s interests” and endangers the lives of “resistance fighters and their families.”
Kassem argued that the government should instead have “spread its authority and evicted Israel from Lebanon,” adding that it is “serving the Israeli project.” He warned that if the ongoing crisis escalates into internal conflict, the government would be responsible. While Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, the Amal movement, have not yet called for street protests, Kassem cautioned that if such a decision is made, demonstrators “will be all over Lebanon and head to the U.S. embassy.”
Last week, the Lebanese government approved a U.S.-backed plan to disarm Hezbollah and implement a ceasefire with Israel, a move urged by the international community following the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war that ended in November.
Kassem insisted that Hezbollah will only discuss a national defence strategy concerning its weapons once Israel withdraws and halts near-daily airstrikes, which have killed many of its members since the war. “The resistance will not hand over its weapons as the aggression continues and occupation remains,” he said, adding that the group is prepared for a prolonged battle if necessary.
The war has weakened Hezbollah, causing significant loss of life among its leadership, displacing over 1 million people in Lebanon, and inflicting reconstruction costs estimated at $11 billion by the World Bank.