| Jammu-Poonch seat promises most intriguing electoral battles | | Congress, BJP, PDP swear upon respective bastions | | Kunal Shrivatsa
JAMMU, Mar 31: In a three-cornered contest between the incumbent Congress, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency is witnessing one of the most 'engrossing' electoral battles ever in the state as all the three political parties have their areas of dominance in the largest Lok Sabha segment of the state.
But going by the history of Jammu- Poonch Lok Sabha seat compressing 20 Assembly constituencies, it would be a tough ask for all the three parties viz Congress, BJP and PDP to hold their bastions and make a dent in the opposition's strongholds.
Out of the 20 Assembly segments falling in this Lok Sabha seat two are in Samba district, ten are in Jammu district, four are in Rajouri while three are in Poonch district.
In the last assembly elections held in November 2008, the Congress and National Conference (NC) contested the polls as opponents since they did not have an alliance at that time.
Riding on the wave of Amaranth land agitation, the BJP gave its best ever performance and clinched seven assembly segments viz Nagrota, Jammu East, Jammu West, RS Pura, Suchetgarh, Raipur-Domana and Marh (all Jammu district), the Congress received a jolt and could win only five assembly seats of Gandhi Nagar, Akhnoor and Chhamb (all Jammu district), Rajouri (Rajouri district) and Surankote (Poonch district), the NC won four seats of Vijaypur (Samba district), Nowshera and Kalakote (Rajouri district) and Poonch Haveli (Poonch district) while PDP managed to win two seats of Darhal (Rajouri) and Mendhar (Poonch district). Two of the assembly segments falling under this Lok Sabha seat viz Samba and Bishnah were won by Panthers Party and an independent respectively. However, the fortunes for these three political parties fluctuated in the twenty assembly segments after a gap of only six months when elections to the 14th Lok Sabha were held in 2009 wherein Congress and NC had alliance.
In the last general elections, Madan Lal Sharma of Congress, who emerged victorious and who is seeking a re-election this time around, managed to secure 3, 82, 305 votes while his nearest rival BJP's Lila Karan Sharma got 2,60, 932 votes. PDP candidate Trilok Singh Bajwa polled 93,730 votes.
Congress with the support of NC secured lead over its arch rival BJP and friend turned foe-PDP in fourteen assembly segments of Vijaypur, Nagrota, Gandhi Nagar, RS Pura, Marh, Akhnoor, Chhamb, Nowshera, Darhal, Rajouri, Kalakote, Surankote, Mendhar and Poonch Haveli.
The Congress managed to secure lead in three of the assembly segments held by BJP including Nagrota, RS Pura and Marh while BJP led in five assembly segments of Samba, Bishnah, Jammu East, Jammu West and Raipur Domana while PDP sprang a surprise in Suchetgarh by securing more votes than BJP, the incumbent of the seat, and Congress.
PDP failed to retain its lead in the two assembly segments of Darhal and Mendhar, won by it in the state elections of 2008.
The Congress polled 11,021 votes in Lok Sabha polls-2009 in Nagrota Assembly segment from where it could amass only 2,769 votes in 2008 assembly elections.
On the other hand, the BJP which got 11,141 votes in 2008 Assembly polls could muster only 8,950 votes in the subsequent elections to the 14th Lok Sabha.
It is pertinent to mention here that Nagrota is the home constituency of BJP nominee for Jammu- Poonch Lok Sabha seat, Jugal Kishore Sharma.
In RS Pura, the BJP's vote share fell from 15,902 in 2008 Assembly polls to 11,895 in 2009 Lok Sabha polls while the Congress increased its votes from 14,272 in 2008 to 16,608 in 2009.
While in Marh, the BJP again had to eat a humble pie since from 18,368 votes in 2008 it managed to accumulate only 13,400 votes in 2009 Lok Sabah polls where as Congress from a meager 993 votes it received in 2008 it went on to gain substantial amount of 14,410 votes in 2009.
Suchetgarh, was the fourth assembly constituency held by BJP where it could not manage a lead despite winning the seat with a huge margin in 2008 Assembly polls. |
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