| LS polls: INDIA constituents lock horns for seats, BJP starts campaigning in J&K | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 31: While constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) alliance are fighting over seat-sharing in Jammu and Kashmir, the ruling BJP has started the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections by simultaneously inaugurating offices at all five Parliamentary seats on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, J&K Congress chief Vikar Rasool Wani disclosed that the party has sent a panel of potential candidates for all the five seats of the Union Territory.
“Our workers are pressurizing us to field at-least one candidate in Kashmir Valley”, Wani said and added that a panel of candidates for five seats has been sent to the high command to bargain for a seat in Kashmir Valley.
Wani claimed that Congress is the only party which has a base in all the five Lok Sabha seats of J&K”, he said and added that no other party including BJP has a base on all Lok Sabha seats of J&K.
Meanwhile, the BJP is ridiculing opposition parties for their failure to evolve consensus on seat sharing in J&K.
“Opposition parties would continue their seat-sharing dialogues even after completion of the Lok Sabha elections”, president of J&K BJP Ravinder Raina said while passing satirical remarks against constituents of INDIA block for their failure to arrive at a consensus on seat sharing.
J&K BJP led by senior leaders, inaugurated its election offices for the five parliamentary constituencies across the Union Territory.
Three main opposition parties of Jammu and Kashmir namely the National Conference, Congress, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are yet to start a formal dialogue for seat sharing in the Union Territory.
While the National Conference has ruled out leaving any of the three Lok Sabha seats for coalition partners, the Congress on the other hand staked its claim on the recently carved Anantnag-Rajouri seat.
Chief spokesperson of J&K Congress Ravinder Sharma staked the party’s claim on Anantnag-Rajouri. He argued that after the inclusion of the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, Congress has a strong claim on this seat.
After delimitation Poonch and Rajouri districts, having a considerable number of Gujjar-Bakerwal, Pahari Muslim, and Hindu voters, have been added to the Anantnag Lok Sabha
In the last Lok Sabha elections of 2019, nearly 90 percent of Anantnag’s electorate was Kashmiri Muslim, with Gujjar-Bakerwals making up only 10%.
After the delimitation, the number of Gujjar-Bakerwal voters is estimated to have increased to 30-35%, besides a significant increase in the number of Paharis, including Hindus.
Last week, National Conference leader and sitting MP from Anantnag seat Hasnain Masoodi made it clear that the NC will not leave any of the three seats for the Congress or the PDP.
“Three seats won by the National Conference in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections are non-negotiable because there is no reason for the Congress or the PDP to stake claims of any of these three seats”, he said.
The PDP, another constituent of the INDIA block, wants Anantnag for its president Mehbooba Mufti. |
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