Mohd Irfan
In a surprising turn of events, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has retained both Lok Sabha seats in Jammu province, but the underlying results paint a different picture. For the first time since 2009, the Indian National Congress has gained a lead in three Hindu-majority assembly segments, traditionally considered BJP strongholds.
Raman Bhalla, the Congress candidate for the Jammu Lok Sabha seat, despite losing by a margin of 1,35,498 votes, managed to break the BJP’s winning streak in Hindu-dominated areas. Bhalla took the lead in R.S. Pura-Jammu South and Suchetgarh assembly segments, a feat not achieved by Congress since 2009 when their candidate, late Madan Lal Sharma, led in eight Hindu-majority segments.
In R.S. Pura-Jammu-South, formerly part of the Gandhi Nagar assembly segment, Bhalla secured 44,162 votes against BJP’s Jugal Kishore Sharma’s 37,798. Similarly, in Suchetgarh, a BJP bastion except in 2002, Bhalla got 42,248 votes to Sharma’s 37,442. This is a significant shift from 2019 when Sharma led with 38,998 votes and Bhalla lagged with just 9,835.
The trend continued in urban areas too. In the newly carved Bahu constituency, comprising posh localities of Gandhi Nagar, Trikuta Nagar, and Channi Himmat, Bhalla nearly matched Sharma’s tally with 36,156 votes to 37,702. The contest was equally tight in Ramgarh (reserved) constituency, with Sharma leading by a slim margin of 1,628 votes.
Even in Samba, another BJP stronghold, Sharma’s lead reduced drastically from 39,421 in 2019 to 15,114 this time. His vote count dropped from 50,538 to 39,670, while Bhalla’s increased from 11,117 to 24,566. The story was similar in Jammu West, where Sharma’s lead of 66,128 in 2019 shrunk to 20,882. In Bishnah, the BJP’s lead plummeted from 40,000 to just 4,736 votes.
Meanwhile, the larger electoral landscape in Jammu and Kashmir saw a decisive mandate, with 89 out of 100 candidates losing their security deposits across five Lok Sabha seats. Only in Baramulla did the third-placed candidate, Sajad Gani Lone of the People’s Conference, manage to save his deposit with 16.76% votes.
The winners mostly secured more than 50% of the votes. National Conference’s Aga Roohullah Mehdi topped with 52.85% in Srinagar, closely followed by BJP’s Jugal Kishore with 52.80% in Jammu. Union Minister Jitendra Singh (BJP) won Udhampur with 51.28%, while NC’s Mian Altaf Ahmad secured Anantnag-Rajouri with 50.85%.
Notably, Independent candidate Sheikh Abdul Rashid’s victory in Baramulla over political heavyweights Omar Abdullah (NC) and Sajad Gani Lone (PC) was the only instance where the winner got less than 50% votes, at 45.70%.
The election was a disaster for Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), with all three candidates losing their deposits. None secured even 4% of the votes. Among seven women candidates, only former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti (PDP) saved her deposit. While the BJP can celebrate retaining both Jammu seats, the inroads made by Congress in their bastions should serve as a wake-up call. The reduced margins in several key segments suggest a shift in voter sentiment, possibly due to local issues or anti-incumbency. As assembly elections loom, the BJP will need to address these concerns to maintain their grip on the region.
