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| Battle for Jammu inching towards climax | | | Kunal Shrivatsa
JAMMU, Apr 6: As the countdown begins for polling in Jammu-Poonch parliamentary constituency, the battle for the prestigious seat is slowly inching towards a climax where anyone could emerge victorious as the gap between the incumbent Congress and hot favourite Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is so narrow and it is getting narrower with each passing day that it would not be easy to predict the actual result.
Initially, the BJP riding high on 'NaMo' wave had clear edge over its arch rival Congress, but the sudden emergence of Union Health Minister and party stalwart Ghulam Nabi Azad into the state poll arena changed the entire political scenario in Jammu region.
The 'Azad' factor helped in rejuvenating the sagging morale of the party cadre who were otherwise feeling down and out by the Modi wave in Jammu-Poonch parliamentary constituency.
On the other hand, the state BJP, who was all upbeat with its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's mass appeal among Jammuites, is now facing a sort of litmus test for NaMo's popularity ever since Azad took command of Congress poll campaign in his hands.
Political observers also feel that Azad's entry has somewhat spoiled the party for BJP as the fortunes were heavily tilted (70-30) in favour of saffron party in Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat before his decision to contest the election from Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat.
But as soon as Azad came into the picture, the BJP, who had been confident of wresting the seat from Congress, found itself into a tight spot.
"The saffron party's fortunes were largely dependent on the division of Muslim votes in Rajouri- Poonch belt as earlier it was anticipated that Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) might be able to gather a huge
chunk of Muslim votes after giving a dent to Congress-National Conference vote bank; however, Azad factor has stopped the pilferage," political observers said.
The political pundits further said that effect of Azad could be evident from the tremendous response he got during his yesterday's whirlwind tour of Poonch-Rajouri belt where huge crowds were drawn by
him anywhere he addressed an election meeting adding that the gap between BJP-Congress has narrowed down to (51-49).
"Azad has not only checked the BJP juggernaut to a larger extent but his presence has also helped in countering the potential threat of losing traditional Muslim votes of Congress and National Conference to PDP particularly in Poonch and Rajouri.....He tried his best to cover every nook and corner of twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri.... People came in huge numbers in his public meetings at Mandi (Poonch), Darhal, Khawas, Devak and Peeri in Rajouri... The Congress-National Conference campaigning has definitely gained momentum since the last few days," said political observers.
"His (Azad) visit to Rajouri-Poonch has consolidated the Muslim votes in favour of Congress-National Conference joint candidate... It has boosted the morale of workers of both the parties... Had there been no Azad, these crucial votes could have easily gone into PDP's kitty... As far as Muslim votes are concerned which comprises 60-65 percent of the total electorate in Rajouri-Poonch, it looks like that Congress now has clear edge over PDP," they added.
Moreover, the alliance between Congress and National Conference is also giving heat to BJP and PDP in this segment. During his recent visit to Rajouri-Poonch, Omar asked his party men to put in their sincere and honest efforts to make sure the success of coalition candidate.
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