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| Division in Congress ranks exposed, impact on Jammu West seat | | BJP victory of Jammu Mayor election has wider political ramifications | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | Mar 6
News Analysis
The mood in BJP circles is obviously upbeat over their unexpected victory in the election to the post for Mayor of Jammu Municipal Corporation. The party has the reason to celebrate its victory with all the fan fare and use this as a moral booster for the party workers. Against this the defeat suffered by the Congress, despite the party having majority in the JMC and the support assured to if four NC councilors and three councilors of its coalition partner, the PDP besides some associated members and independents, is demoralizing for the party. Obviously there has been cross voting from among the Congress councilors as well, with the BJP candidate Kavinder Gupta securing 37 votes, 10 more than the strength of its party in the JMC. This has been the second defeat of Congress in the election for the Mayor Jammu Municipal Corporation. It was in 2005, when the election to the Mayor was held by the newly elected councilors of JMC, with the civic body elections held after a gap of 25 years, with its up gradation from municipal council to municipal corporation.
Although the post of Mayor of JMC is not prestigious one since the Mayor is bereft of any real powers and even the corporation is only a powerless body, starved of funds to carry on any developmental work worth the name in the city, yet the defeat of Congress in the JMC elections has serious political contours and fallout. This defeat augurs unwell for the newly appointed Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Saif Ahmed Soz, who obviously has a bad start as the party chief in the state. This is also the personal defeat of the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, under whose supervision the party candidate was selected for the post of Mayor, through secret ballot. This reflects the sharp division within the Congress ranks and even the leadership, particularly in Jammu city from where the party had returned all the three MLAs in the 2002 assembly elections, with BJP drawing blank in its traditional citadel of Jammu city. Even the results of the election to the 71 member Jammu Municipal Corporation were quite encouraging for the Congress with the party emerging as the single largest group in JMC, winning elections in 29 wards against 27 wards won by BJP and three wards opting for the ally of Congress in the government, the PDP. But the second defeat of the Congress in the election to the post of Mayor has exposed chinks in its ranks.
Coming as a does, when election to the state assembly are only due after 6 to 7 months, provided the same are not held before it schedule, can have serious fallout on the Congress prospects in the assembly elections, particularly in the winter capital city of Jammu. In fact Jammu city had been the citadel of BJP till early eightees, with party winning at least both the seats of Jammu city. It was for first time in 1983 that the party had lost all the three seats in the city. But its fortunes were revived again in 1996, when it won all the three seats from the city. But in 2002 elections party lost at least one sure seat of Jammu city East to the Congress due to the division of votes between the BJP and RSS floated Jammu State Morcha candidates. The combined votes polled by the BJP and JSM from here were more than those polled by the wining Congress candidate. The Congress had won this seat by default due to the division in the common vote bank of RSS supported parties.
It is the Jammu city West constituency which is presently represented by heavy weight and senior Congress leader, Mangat Ram Sharma, who has served as Deputy Chief Minister during three years of coalition government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and is presently Minister for Health and Medical Education, which is likely to undergo qualitative change, with the election of Kavinder Gupta of BJP as the Mayor of Jammu city. With the tag of Mayor of the city, Kavinder Gupta as BJP candidate from Jammu city West, is going to make a big dent in the vote bank of Congress candidate in Jammu West constituency. It will be particularly so if the Congress fields any other candidate from here than the heavy weight Pt. Mangat Ram Sharma, who is at present 78 year old. There were indications earlier that Mangat Ram Sharma at this age may opt out of the contest for the state assembly seat and instead prefer for getting party ticket for the election to the Lok Sabha or even nomination to the Rajya Sabha or even go for a gubernatorial post in any of the state, which was earlier also offered to him. However under the changed circumstances, with BJP all likely to field Kavinder Gupta as its candidates for the state assembly election from Jammu city West, Congress may be forced to field Mangat Ram Sharma again from here. However like the last elections, Mangat Ram Sharma too may not have cake walk from here in 2008 elections, in view of incumbency factor going against him, despite many developmental works having taken place in this part of the city and Sharma keeping close rapport with his electorates. |
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