Today in Politics: In first visit to Jammu and Kashmir in Modi 3.0, PM to hold mega event, lead June 21 Yoga Day celebrations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day tour of Jammu and Kashmir from Thursday, which will mark his first visit to the Union Territory (UT) after being sworn in as the PM for his third term earlier this month in the wake of the 18th Lok Sabha elections.

On Thursday evening, PM Modi will participate in an event, ‘Empowering Youth, Transforming J&K’, at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar. He would inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects in J&K. He is also set to launch the Competitiveness Improvement in Agriculture and Allied Sectors Project (JKCIP) there.

On Friday morning, PM Modi will lead the 10th International Day of Yoga (IDY) celebrations at the SKICC in Srinagar. He will also address the gathering on the occasion.

PM Modi’s visit comes in the run-up to the J&K Assembly elections slated for later this year.

J&K has not had an Assembly since it was dissolved in 2018. In June of that year, Governor’s Rule was imposed after the BJP ended its alliance with the Mehbooba Mufti-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and brought down the ruling coalition.

Then in November that year, Mehbooba Mufti staked a claim to form a government with the support of the National Conference and Congress — she cited a collective strength of 56 MLAs in the 87-member House. A separate claim to form a government was made by Sajad Gani Lone of the then two-member People’s Conference who claimed support of the BJP and 18 MLAs from other parties.

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… where there is a need to have a stable and