SRINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address three election rallies in Jammu and Kashmir – two in Jammu region and one in Kashmir – starting next week, giving a boost to the BJP campaign that will revolve around the abrogation of Article 370 and the “development” since, plus the quota for SC/ST communities in Assembly seats for the first time in J&K.
Sources said the PM is likely to visit the Union territory after September 8, with at least one public meeting planned in Doda in the Jammu region, which has lately seen a series of militant attacks.
J&K’s first Assembly elections in 10 years kick off with the first phase of voting on September 18. BJP sources involved in the elections said the party is hoping to win at least 35 seats in Jammu, which has 43 Assembly constituencies after delimitation, as well as enough in Kashmir “to emerge as the key player in government formation” in the Union territory. The new Assembly consists of 90 members.
“Neither the NC (National Conference) nor the PDP (Peoples Conference) will be able to form a government in J&K on their own. The BJP will be a key player, in fact it will be a BJP-led government. We will have enough numbers,” a party leader said.
In Kashmir, where there is resentment against the party for the Narendra Modi government’s “unilateral” scrapping of special status, the BJP is counting on smaller parties and Independents to split the votes of established parties such as the NC and PDP, a source said. Given the long gap since the last state elections, it is expected that there will be multiple contestants from every seat.
One reason for the BJP’s optimism is the fact that in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the party had a clear lead in 30 Assembly segments. The BJP did not put up a candidate in any of the three constituencies in Kashmir in the Lok Sabha polls, but won both of Jammu’s two seats. However, a leader from the region admitted, “The Assembly elections are a different ball game.”
The Jammu region has long been a BJP stronghold, with the Modi government’s scrapping of special status having popular support there. The party will stress here the changes brought in J&K since the abrogation of Article 370.
BJP MP and former Union minister Anurag Thakur, who has been pressed into the J&K campaign by the party, told The Indian Express: “We have fulfilled the desires of the people by abolishing the special status. People are convinced about the peace, prosperity and development since. The inflow of tourists has gone up manifold… revenue is up. The aspirations of people in J&K have become bigger because they have seen change.”
Thakur, who also played a key role in the 2020 District and Development Council elections in J&K for the BJP, said another big plus for the party is PM Modi’s popularity. “After PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, if the people have reposed their faith in a government in Delhi, it is because of PM Modi, who has visited the state often and delivered on his promises,” Thakur said, adding that the changes brought in to introduce an SC/ST quota in Assembly seats and expand the ST list will also work in the BJP’s favour. ( Indian Express)
