The high-octane campaigning for the third and final phase of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir came to an end on Sunday with the voting set to be undertaken across 40 Assembly segments on October 1.
Across the Jammu region where polling is scheduled to take place on 24 out of 40 Assembly seats, the stakes are high for the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) as it is locked in a straight fight with the Congress party on the majority of seats.
In Kashmir Valley, where polling is scheduled to take place across 16 Assembly segments, the future of Sajad Lone’s Peoples Conference and the Engineer Rashid-led Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) is also hanging in balance.
The National Conference is hoping to repeat its past performance in the 2002 and 2008 Assembly polls when it won 9 and 7 Assembly seats respectively. In 2014 NC's tally had come down to three seats in the region. PDP won seven seats in the 2014 Assembly polls from North Kashmir. Both Lone and Rashid, labeled as BJP's proxy by the National Conference and the PDP are hoping to retain their stronghold in their bastions across North Kashmir. Engineer Rashid, after receiving a healthy voter response at the time of his release from the Tihar jail ( on bail) is hoping to encash on the similar sentiments that propelled his Lok Sabha campaign in May 2024.
Sajjad Lone who lost to Engineer Rashid in the Baramulla constituency is now contesting from two Assembly seats — Handwara and Kupwara, while Rashid is hoping to make inroads in pockets of North Kashmir to romp home victoriously.
The fate of several high-profile leaders and turncoats who were given the mandate by the BJP by denying tickets to some of their 'unpopular' leaders will also be decided in this crucial phase.
DS Rana contesting from Nagrota, Sham Lal Sharma from Jammu North, and Surjit Singh Slathia from Samba are going to test the political waters for the first time as BJP candidates in the fray.
From the congress party several of its candidates are locked in a tough fight with their rival BJP candidate. Lal Singh contesting from Basohli, Raman Bhalla from RSPura-Jammu South and Tara Chand from the Chhamb Assembly segment are also making the 'battle of ballot' more interesting in these seats.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made by the Election Commission of India to ensure peaceful conduct of the polls in the wake of the prevailing security scenario in the region.
A total number of 415 candidates remain in the fray for 40 assembly constituencies spread across seven districts of Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur, Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora.
A handful of independent candidates in the fray are also giving a tough competition to the BJP. The party's performance in this crucial phase is going to make or mar the chances of government formation.
BJP won 25 Assembly seats in the 2014 Assembly polls, the highest-ever tally so far. This time, the party is hoping to gain an absolute majority.
In 2014, BJP swept the polls winning 19 out 21 seats in these four districts. Addressing Vijay Sankalp Maharally in support of BJP candidates at M A M Stadium on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this assembly election has given the people of Jammu a historic opportunity to decide on the next government. They need to seize this moment and choose the BJP, Modi said.
Modi also claimed, “The people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have been at the receiving end of the rule of three families — Congress, National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — do not want them back.”On the occasion, Modi reiterated his government’s promise of restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and cautioned people against bringing the NC, Congress, and the PDP back to power.
During the month-long campaign period, the Prime Minister himself led from the front addressing four election rallies in Doda, Srinagar, and Katra in which he communicated directly with the voters to elect a BJP government in the maiden assembly polls after the Abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A in August 2019.
Home Minister Amit Shah also campaigned extensively in the region along with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Chief Ministers from the BJP-ruled states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand and other star campaigners including Smriti Irani, and Anurag Singh Thakur also campaigned for the party candidates during the high-voltage campaigning.
