As Jammu and Kashmir gears up for Assembly elections after a decade, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Shagun Parihar as its candidate from Kishtwar assembly constituency. Parihar is BJP’s only woman candidate in its first list of 15 candidates.
Parihar’s uncle Anil Parihar who once served as the district general secretary of the BJP was killed by terrorists in 2018.
After getting the ticket, Parihar said, “I have never thought that I will join politics. Let’s see how things change my fate. The party has announced my candidature, it is a very emotional moment for us.”
“I will fight this election on the issues of empowerment of women of the state and for their jobs. I am confident that I will be able to stand the test of the party,” she added.
Parihar was completing her PhD in Electronics. She was not involved in active politics and had no intention of joining politics anytime soon. However, since her uncle Ajit Parihar was a senior BJP leader from the district, she was active in grassroots politics since her student days.
In November 2018, terrorists killed her uncle Anil and her father Ajit Parihar. Anil Parihar was considered a strong leader in the district.
Shagun Parihar broke down during the press conference as she remembered the 2018 terrorist attack in which she lost her father and uncle. She said security will be one of her priorities if elected. “I do not want anyone else to face what I underwent when I lost my father and uncle,” she said, adding, “I will also focus on women empowerment and then on employment of women and the people of Kishtwar.”
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