Leaders Test Waters for Assembly Elections Amidst Lok Sabha Poll Campaigning
With Lok Sabha elections for Jammu constituency scheduled for April 26, many senior leaders of both Congress and BJP are testing the waters in their constituencies as Assembly elections are also expected to be held in J&K this year.
Many senior leaders have become key campaigners for the candidates of their respective LS constituencies for both the Congress and BJP. The BJP-PDP government was in power in J&K till 2018 when the alliance broke while the Congress was in alliance with National Conference till 2014.
Senior leaders and former ministers who have served in the previous governments have now become active and are campaigning with the Lok Sabha candidates.
The election to the Udhampur constituency was held on April 19 where BJP candidate Jitendra Singh faced Congress contestant Choudhary Lal Singh. In Jammu LS seat, elections will be held on April 26 where BJP’s Jugal Kishore Sharma will be contesting against Congress’ Raman Bhalla.
BJP leaders and former MLAs Devender Singh Rana, Sham Lal Sharma and Ravinder Raina (presently BJP UT chief) are seen in the forefront of the campaigning for the Lok Sabha poll.
Rana holds the sway in many parts of Jammu, especially Nagrota, as he is a senior leader who was formerly an aide of NC’s Omar Abdullah. After Rana joined the BJP in 2021, NC literally crumbled in many parts of Jammu.
On the other hand, Sham Lal Sharma and Ravinder Raina also hold influence in Akhnoor in Jammu and Nowshera in Rajouri respectively.
Vikar Rasool Wani, who is also the J&K chief of Congress, Ravinder Sharma, chief spokesperson of Congress, and Yogesh Sawhney, senior leader of the party, are among those holding campaign for their leaders. Wani holds influence in Ramban district while Sharma has supporters in Sunderbani area of Rajouri. Sawhney has influence in pockets of Jammu.
The Supreme Court of India had last year directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to hold Assembly elections in J&K by September 30, 2024. Many leaders have already started preparing ground to contest the poll.
