Jammu: The BJP is trying to make inroads into the Congress-NC alliance and PDP bastion of the Pir Panchal region with its star campaigners set to address several mega rallies in the second phase of the polls on September 25.
For the past six decades, the Pir Panchal region has remained a stronghold of the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance, which has bagged five seats over five to eight times.
The region, comprising the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch along the Line of Control and sharing borders with south Kashmir, had largely favoured the PDP, Congress and NC in the 2014 state elections, with these parties securing five out of seven assembly seats.
The BJP had only won two Hindu-dominated constituencies — Nowshera and Kalakote.
Several top BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will address mega rallies to boost the party’s prospects in the region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to join canvassing on the last day of the campaigning in the twin border districts.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP media centre in-charge Arun Gupta said the party plans to hold six mega rallies in the next two days, led by Shah and Singh, along with other top leaders.
“We are going all out to win voters in Rajouri and Poonch. Our star campaigners, Amit Shah Ji and Rajnath Singh Ji, will be holding eight rallies on Saturday and Sunday,” Gupta told PTI.
Shah will fly to Rajouri early on Saturday and address rallies in Mendhar, Surankote (Poonch district), Rajouri and Thanamandi (Rajouri district), along with one in Akhnoor (Jammu district). He is also expected to hold a rally in Nowshera constituency to support the party’s state president Ravinder Raina on Sunday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will address three rallies on Sunday in Poonch, Surankote and Jammu.
Union Health Minister and BJP president J P Nadda will be attending a programme of intellectuals in Jammu on Sunday and is likely to address a rally in Rajouri.
The BJP is working overtime to engage with voters in Pir Panchal, heavily relying on what the party terms as the “Modi magic”.
Over the past three days, the region has witnessed brisk campaigning and rallies by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in Budhal (Rajouri), Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in Rajouri and Union ministers G Kishen Reddy and Dr Jitendra Singh, who have covered most of the border districts.
This time, the BJP is focused on maximising its seats from the twin border districts, especially after granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to four new communities, including Paharis, thus expanding Jammu and Kashmir’s ST list, which already includes the Gujjar and Bakarwal communities.
The region has significantly benefited from the reservation granted in February this year.
“The new inclusions in the ST list are the Pahari, Paddari, Gaddi Brahmin and Koli communities. Although Paharis include Muslims and Sikhs, the largest chunk is Hindus, which will likely benefit the BJP,” said political expert Vikas Kumar.
Out of the eight seats, five are reserved for STs in the Pir Panchal region. The BJP has fielded five Gujjar candidates in Thanamandi, Budhal, Poonch, Surankote and Mendhar assembly segments where Gujjars hold a significant voting bloc, Kumar added.
“The BJP views the Rajouri-Poonch belt as a key area for increasing its seat tally beyond the two seats it won in the 2014 elections. This is why the party is pulling out all the stops, deploying its top star campaigners to attract voters,” Kumar said.
The BJP’s candidates include two-time MLA and former minister Zulfkar Choudhary from the Budhal seat, Iqbal Malik from the newly carved out Thanamandi, Choudhary Abdul Gani from Poonch, former MLC Murtaza Khan from Mendhar and former two Minister Syed Mustaq Bukhari from Surankote.
J&K BJP chief and former MLA Ravinder Raina is contesting from Nowshera, party general secretary Vibodh Kumar from Rajouri and Randhir Singh from Kalakote.
“We are confident of a strong response from voters. There’s a wave in our favour and our star campaigners will further boost our prospects. We will win most of the seats in this belt,” said Ravinder Raina.
Home Minister Shah, who has been credited with leading the BJP’s campaign in J&K this time too, visited the region on September 6 and 7 to release the party’s manifesto and hold a Pracharak rally in Jammu. He also addressed rallies in Paddar and Kishtwar during the first phase of the elections on September 16.
Prime Minister Modi has also campaigned in the first and second phases of the elections, holding rallies in Doda on September 14 and in Srinagar and Katra on September 19.
The BJP leaders have emphasised the threat posed by the restoration of Article 370 by the NC and PDP and supported by Congress, which they claim would revoke the reservations for Gujjars, Bakerwals, Paharis and Scheduled Castes.
However, the Congress is seeking to revive its electoral fortunes in the upcoming assembly polls. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address a mega rally in Surankote on September 23.
The Congress and its alliance partners have maintained a relatively low profile in the twin districts.
NC vice president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah addressed rallies in Mendhar and Rajouri on Friday, while PDP chief and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti held rallies in Rajouri and Poonch on Thursday. The PDP won three seats in the region in the 2014 elections.
