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| Caste factor likely to benefit Lal in Bani constituency | | | Kunal Shrivatsa/ Sanjay Pathak
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 7 : With caste factor playing a major role in the mountainous Bani Assembly constituency in district Kathua, the stake holders in the segment including the Congress, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and the National Conference (NC) are getting goose bumps as there is clear polarization of votes on caste lines. The political analysts and some of the prominent citizens of Bani Assembly segment told Early Times that if the voters got swayed by the social divide in the constituency then it will eventually benefit the BJP rebel Master Lal Chand, who is contesting the polls as an independent. As many as 11 candidates are in fray from Bani Assembly constituency which include Rajnish Sharma alias Mian (Congress), Jeewan Lal (BJP), Ghulam Hyder Malik (National Conference), Master Lal Chand (Independent), Pawan Dev Singh (Panthers Party), Ramzan Hussain (BSP), Mohd Salim Lone (PDP), Pishori Lal (Independent), Deep Kumar (Independent), Mohd Rafiq (Independent) and Madan Lal (Independent). According to political pundits the Modi effect may have spreading its tentacles in other four constituencies of Kathua district but in Bani segment as of now the caste factor is in the forefront which has brightened the prospects of Master Lal Chand. Even during the last parliamentary elections, the Modi charisma failed to take off to a satisfactory level for saffron party in Bani Assembly constituency as the BJP managed to get a slender lead of around 2400 votes over Congress. "Bani has around 42,000 electorates out of which majority of voters (nearly 15-16,000) are Thakkars who are a deciding factor in any candidate's win… Since BJP denied party mandate to Master Lal Chand who belongs to Thakkar community, a sense of anguish and resentment is prevailing among Thakkars. Moreover, Lal Chand has strong grip over Thakkar voters who can make or break one's political career in Bani," said Des Raj, a resident of Lohang near Bani. After the Thakkars, comes the Gaddis who has a strength of nearly 10-12000 voters in the segment while Muslims comprise about 9-10000 voters. "No doubt the voters in Bani are getting polarized on caste basis and if hundred percent polarization takes place in the segment then Master Lal Chand could easily be the winner considering the fact that Thakkars have majority among electors," said a prominent citizen of Lohai Malhar area, Qasim Din. "But such a scenario is far from reality as there are remote chances that cent-percent Thakkars would vote in favour of Lal Chand… Moreover, it remains to be seen that how far the split among different communities could hold its footing… It could easily wane if Modi wave grips the voters… It could then change the scenario completely," he added. The other strong contender from the Bani segment is Ghulam Hyder Malik of NC who could spoil Lal Chand's party as he has a strong footing among Muslim voters and he has also represented the seat in the past. "In case the caste polarization failed to take a final shape then Malik would have an edge over his rivals… Even Lal Chand while campaigning in the constituency is openly appealing the voters to opt for Malik if they don't want to cast their votes in his favour… It may be because of the fact that Lal Chand once had very friendly relations with Malik," said Dev Raj of Duggan. |
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