Amit Shah's 1st visit to J&K as home minister begins today

Home Minister Amit Shah is reaching Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday on an important two-day visit. This will be Shah's first visit to Jammu and Kashmir as home minister.

According to sources, Shah will first pay obeisance at the cave of the Amarnath Shrine in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.

After returning from the Amarnath cave, Shah will chair a high-level meeting of officials from the security forces at SKICC on the banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar on Wednesday afternoon. Shah will be briefed about the security plan for the Amarnath Yatra that starts from July 1. Later, he will be given a detailed briefing about anti-militancy operations and counter-infiltration efforts of the security forces.

On Thursday, Shah is scheduled to meet senior BJP leaders from the Jammu and Kashmir unit, a delegation of Sarpanches and others. These meetings will discuss the political situation and the impending elections in the state.

Shah will also meet state Governor Satya Pal Malik on the second day of his trip. Shah is likely to address the media before returning to Delhi.

Shah was initially expected to visit Jammu and Kashmir on June 30, but the trip was advanced in view of the presentation of the budget in Parliament.

Security has been strengthened across the state in view of Shah's visit to the state, and forces have been put on alert to prevent any untoward incident.

According to sources, Shah will be briefed by BJP leaders about the party's prospects in the impending elections in the state. Sources said the BJP is keen to improve its voter base in the Kashmir valley. The party 's chances of a better showing in the assembly elections received a major boost after it secured impressive leads in 27 of the 37 assembly segments in Jammu, leads in two segments in Ladakh and one segment in Kashmir.