The BJP, which is yet to win a seat in the Valley, has fielded only seven candidates in for the first phase, leaving many seats vacant for “friendly allies”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been working in Kashmir for the past decade, has marked a significant shift in new strategy by focusing on fewer more winnable seats.
The party, which is yet to win a seat in the Valley, has fielded only seven candidates in for the first phase, leaving many seats vacant for “friendly allies”. Of the 47 seats in Kashmir, the saffron party plans to field candidates only on 24 seats.
After the abrogation of Article 370, three BJP candidates won — one each from Srinagar, Pulwama and Kupwara districts — in the DDC elections, giving the party hope of improving fortunes.
“I have reached every ward and village of my constituency and am hopeful of winning as people support peace and development,” said Engineer Ajaz, DDC member from Srinagar, who is BJP candidate from the high-profile Lal Chowk seat.
“This is an urban constituency with rural pockets where leaders of other political parties were absent from the ground. I had been serving my people with dedication,” he said.
BJP general secretary J&K in-charge Ram Madhav had on Wednesday also campaigned for Ajaz, saying, “Our party will emerge as the single largest party in Jammu and will form the next government…”
State media in-charge and probable candidate from Lolab, Sajjad Yusuf, said the party’s prospects look bright for the first time. “We are contesting from 24 seats. And at least seven to eight seats are such where our party is very strong. By only contesting from 24 seats, the BJP wants to focus on such seats where one is very good. The results could be a surprise,” he said.
In 2014, the BJP contested assembly elections on more than 30 seats but failed to open its account. Evena a few seats from Kashmir could have made BJP the single largest party and helped it stake claim for the CM’s post. However, it forged an alliance with Peoples Democratic Party instead only to pull support in June 2018.
Since then, BJP leaders have been clandestinely working to make inroads into Kashmir and are also banking on a section of Pahari votes after honouring their demand for reservation.
The main focus of the BJP leadership will be on the assembly seats of Gurez, Tangdhar, Uri, Tregham, Habbakadal, Lal Chowk, Shangus and Anantnag West. “We are working on strategy, we have fielded good candidates and are relying on many independent candidates who could become our potential allies after elections,” a former BDC member who is part of the party’s working committee for Kashmir said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah will also be addressing rallies in South and North Kashmir to help break the jinx. “The impact of PM Narendra Modi will always be positive in Kashmir and it will have a good impact on voters,” Yusuf said.
Former legislator Surinder Ambardar, a close aide of Ram Madhav, said the party lacked structure in Kashmir in 2014. “Ten years isn’t a long time in politics, but we now have our booth-level groups and workers in almost every place. Our district and constituency committees are present and we are hopeful that Lotus will bloom in the Valley this time.”
Prominent political commentator Maqsood Ahmad said the BJP has been working on a strategy for Kashmir for a long time. “The BJP leaders had focused on some seats especially Gurez and Tangdhar and they would try to win a couple of seats from the Valley. It will not be easy. They [BJP] are also relying on their allies and independents in Kashmir, but in the end, everything depends on the performance of their own candidates.” Source
