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| Congress committing a mistake by using services of NC in Jammu | | Election in Kathua-Udhampur-Doda | | Neha
JAMMU, Apr 12: Kathua-Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha constituency has never ever witnessed such a hectic campaigning as it has been happening there since days now. The people of this prestigious constituency will go to the polls on April 17. There are four players - the Congress, BJP, Panthers Party and the BSP. The last two, like other independent candidates, are only marginal players. The real fight is between the Congress and the BJP. The Congress has fielded a heavy weight - Union Minister and former J&K CM Ghulam Nabi Azad, who has his political clout in the Jammu province. He and his colleagues are leaving no stone unturned to influence the electoral scene. There is hardly any Congress leader and worker who is not campaigning for Azad in his/her own way. The JKPCC president Saif-ud-Din Soz, who has his group in the party, is also campaigning for Azad. Even AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi addressed an election rally in support of Azad in Doda. A number of coalition leaders, including NC working president and CM Omar Abdullah, were there on the dais. Omar Abdullah also addressed the rally and sought support for Azad.
The manner in which the entire Congress leadership and cadres have been campaigning in this Lok Sabha constituency shows the level of important they have been attaching to this constituency and it is quite understandable. Azad is not an ordinary politician. He is a leader of national stature and his defeat means many things for the party high command and the local Congress leadership.
As said, the two major players are Azad and BJP candidate Jitendra Singh. He too has been campaigning in the constituency for days now. Two national leaders, including the party's PM nominee Narendra Modi and Vinod Khana, have already addressed two very impressive rallies at Hiranagar and Kathua and the BJP national president Rajnath Singh is scheduled to address an election rally at Udhampur on April 15, the last day of campaigning. The fact is that the BJP, like the Congress, has also been putting all possible efforts to woo the voters.
However, the question to be asked is: Will Omar Abdullah's campaigning help the Azad? The answer appears to be no. In Poonch and Rajouri, Omar Abdullah made some controversial statements and damaged the poll prospects of the coalition candidate. He for example, declared that he would see to it that the "Paharis" got ST status during his own present tenure. His statement angered the entire Gujjar community. The Gujjars and Bakerwals are opposed to the Paharis' demand for ST status. They believe, and rightly so, that the grant of ST status to the "Paharis" will create a powerful counterpoise to their aims. There are reasons to believe that many Gujjars and Bakerwals did not vote for the Congress candidate.
It needs to be underlined that bulk of the non-Muslim communities in Jammu province hates and despises the NC and its regressive ideology. They have never liked the association of the Congress with the NC. They not only consider Omar Abdullah and his NC pro-separatist, but also consider them anti-Dogra and to prove their point they refer to Singh statements in the Samba area - statements which resulted in a massive defeat of the NC in the Jammu province. The point is that the NC is not a boon for the Congress and its candidate Azad. The more the campaigning by Omar Abdullah and other NC leaders, including the outspoken and provocative provincial, the more the damage to the electoral prospects of the Congress party. Indeed, Azad has taken a risk by involving Omar Abdullah in his election campaign. |
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