Although the BJP is not contesting from the three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley, over three dozen leaders from the party have started a rare people-to-people contact and asked the cadre to amplify the narrative to support the parties with potential to dislodge the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, along with BJP Jammu and Kashmir unit president Ravinder Raina and general secretary and in-charge Anantnag-Rajouri parliamentary constituency Vibodh Gupta, recently chaired a meeting in Rajouri. Two campaigners have been put in charge of each of the 18 Assembly segments of the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency.
Sources said the BJP leaders are mobilising the support of Hindu, Gujjar and Pahari voters, who make up over 50% of the 18 lakh voters, for the candidates who belong to parties other than NC and the PDP. The polls in Anantnag-Rajouri polls was postponed from May 7 to May 25. Senior leaders like Mr. Raina camped in Anantnag and Baramulla for several days “to ensure cohesive response” of the cadre.
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“People of Rajouri, Poonch and Anantnag deserve leaders who are committed to their well-being round the clock, not just during election season. For this, it is imperative that we unite against the NC and the PDP who exploited our trust for their own political ambitions. People should reject the NC, the PDP for spreading lies and hatred,” Mr. Gupta said.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and NC leader Mian Altaf, also a Gujjar leader, are two key candidates contesting the seat. Two new regional parties floated after the Centre ended J&K’s special constitutional position in 2019, the J&K Apni Party and the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), have fielded Zafar Manhas, a Pahari, and Saleem Parray as their respective candidates.
The BJP has made it clear that “it was devising separate strategies for each constituency” of the Kashmir valley, in a bid to show its presence and influence. “We are chalking out separate strategies for the three Kashmir seats. The BJP has coalition partners in Kashmir, who believe joining hands with the BJP will benefit them,” Mr. Raina said.
He said the BJP cadre will vote for “anyone who is a nationalist and talks about peace, prosperity and brotherhood”.
The BJP has not formally aligned with any regional party in Kashmir, where its vote share in 2019 was less than 2%. However, it is weighing in for the parties it believes have similar political positions, such as on the dilution of Article 370.
The Kashmir Valley is witnessing its first Lok Sabha polls after Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to a Union Territory in 2019. The victory of regional parties other than the PDP and NC could help the BJP’s narrative of people accepting the revocation of Article 370.
The poll narrative of the J&K Apni Party, the DPAP and the J&K Peoples Conference have targetted the Abdullahs and Ms. Mufti. In separate poll speeches, the candidates of these parties blamed them for the “conflict in Kashmir” and “use of force on civilian population during agitations”.
“The NC and the PDP are equally responsible for promoting gun culture in J&K,” said Ghulam Hasan Mir, a senior leader of JKAP.
Omar Abdullah, who is contesting from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, however, said his party was up against “Delhi’s might and proxies of the BJP” in all three seats in Kashmir.
