Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 12: A.s the countdown for the Assembly elections has started, the BJP is desperately trying to rope in some potential Muslim faces for the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri.
Although some prominent Pahari Muslim leaders have joined the BJP after the Union Government granted Scheduled Tribe status to the ethnic Pahari tribe, the Saffron Party is looking for winnable Muslim candidates for seats of Poonch and Rajouri.
Sources said that the results of the just concluded Lok Sabha elections have shattered the faith of the party leadership in the present leadership in Poonch and Rajouri because these leaders failed to mobilize support for the Apni Party candidate Zafar Iqbal Manhas on the Anantnag-Rajouri seat who was supported by the BJP.
Except for the newly carved Kalakote-Sunderbani, which is part of the Jammu-Samba Lok Sabha seat, the National Conference managed to get the lead on all other Assembly segments of t BJP is desperately trying to rope in some potential Muslim faces for the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri.
Although some prominent Pahari Muslim leaders have joined the BJP, the Saffron Party is looking for winnable Muslim candidates.
Results of the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections have shattered the faith of the local leadership.
Rajouri, Thanamandi, Budhal, Surankote, and Mendhar are reserved for Scheduled Tribe.
Even in the Nowshera Assembly segment, which is the home constituency of the incumbent BJP chief Ravinder Raina, the National Conference managed to get the lead over the BJP-supported Apni Party candidate.
Important to mention here that Rajouri, Thanamandi, Budhal, Surankote, and Mendhar are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST). First time in the political history of Jammu and Kashmir political reservation has been granted to the ST as per recommendation of the Delimitation Commission recommendation.
Although the ethnic Pahari tribe has been granted ST status and many Pahari leaders have joined the BJP, the party (BJP) is trying to rope in some prominent Muslim faces in these two districts to give a tough fight to the opposition parties.
In the 2014 Assembly elections, BJP managed to win only the Nowshera and Kalakote Assembly segments and this time party would try to improve its tally after granting ST status to Pahari-speaking people. | 