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| Close contest likely between BSP, Independent candidate | | Battle for Kathua | | KUNAL SHRIVATSA/SANJAY PATHAK
JAMMU, Dec 17: The Kathua Assembly constituency is all set to repeat history as the race between independent candidate and sitting MLA Charanajit Singh and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) nominee Som Raj Majotra is heading for a close contest. With Charanjit Singh putting up an impressive show today by drawing a huge crowd of more than eight thousand supporters in his election rally held at Ram Leela Ground, Kathua after BSP's successful rally two days ago, the political pundits in Kathua have started to draw comparisons between Singh and BSP candidate Som Raj Majotra's display of strength. The political analysts opined that though the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) held a mammoth rally in Kathua on December 13 but it was largely due to Modi effect, whose popularity draws huge crowds wherever he goes adding that the role of local BJP leadership has nothing to do with the huge crowd in Modi rally.However, the rallies of independent candidate Charanjit Singh and BSP have their own significance because Singh is sitting MLA and the BSP was a runner up in the last Assembly elections of 2008 as well as in the Assembly polls of 2002 which shows that both the contenders have strong presence in the constituency.Both, Singh and Majotra were locked in a bitter poll battle in the last Assembly elections in 2008 wherein Singh eventually won by a wafer thin margin of 2362 votes.While Singh, who was contesting the election as an independent polled 19123 votes, his nearest rival Majotra of BSP mustered 16761 votes in Assembly polls in 2008."All eyes were on Charanjit Singh's election rally…His show was quite impressive…Though the attendance in his rally was less than what BSP managed to draw day before yesterday but still it was an imposing display considering the fact that he is contesting as an independent….Moreover, Charanjit's rally was much more impressive than Congress rally," said political analysts."Charanjit could have drawn more numbers but it is a known fact that he has mass following among government employees who avoid election rallies due to restrictions of openly attending a poll related programme," they added.Political analysts further said that though he is fighting the elections as an independent candidate second time in succession from Kathua Assembly constituency, the sitting MLA Charanjit Singh is a force to reckon with along with the BSP, whose strong vote base in the segment cannot be ignored adding that the contest is inching closer to what happened in Assembly polls of 2008. "The battle lines have drawn and going by the amount of support being enjoyed by Charanjit Singh and BSP's Som Raj Majotra, it looks like that history is on course to repeat itself in Kathua Assembly segment where ultimately the voters may make choice between Singh and Majotra," said political experts. |
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