Despite securing victory in both Lok Sabha seats in Udhampur and Jammu, the ruling BJP is evaluating the reasons for its poor performance in various segments of these constituencies during recent elections.
While incumbents Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma retained their seats for a third term, the party witnessed a notable decline in their winning margins.
The party high command, led by UT chief Ravinder Raina, is looking at factors contributing to this decrease.
Jitendra Singh's voteshare in Udhampur decreased nearly 10 per cent from 61.38 per cent in 2019 to 51.28 per cent. Jugal Kishore Sharma's voteshare in the Jammu constituency dropped 5 per cent from 58.02 per cent to 53.46 per cent, ECI data shows.
In addition to Jammu, BJP-backed candidates struggled to retain their security deposits, particularly in the Anantnag constituency, including Rajouri and Poonch districts.
In the Jammu Lok Sabha seat, BJP’s Jugal Kishore Sharma led in 15 of 18 Assembly constituencies but struggled in Jammu East, Nagrota, Ramgarh, and Bahu, despite these being Hindu-dominated areas.
Similarly, in Udhampur, Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh outperformed the BJP in Inderwal, Bhaderwah, Doda, and Banihal Assembly segments, with support from the PDP and NC that chose not to field candidates to avoid vote division.
Despite granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Pahari-speaking people, Apni Party candidate Zafar Iqbal Manhas, supported by the BJP, only secured Pahari votes in some segments, while the Gujjar population overwhelmingly supported NC’s Mian Altaf Larvi.
The BJP faced setbacks in Muslim-dominated areas, raising concerns as UT prepares for the upcoming Assembly polls scheduled for September 30.
Despite giving reservations to the Gujjar and Bakarwal communities, the BJP failed to accumulate or appease the voters, as these communities overwhelmingly supported Larvi.
Despite these challenges, the BJP remains focused on improving its performance in the upcoming Assembly elections.
"After a phenomenal performance in the Lok Sabha poll, the time has come to focus on the upcoming Assembly poll," said senior BJP leader Kavinder Gupta.
The Election Commission has indicated that it will conduct the Assembly elections soon in J&K per the Supreme Court's directive to finalise the process by September 30.
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