SRINAGAR: IT would be a direct fight between Congress and BJP in two Jammu and Kashmir seats, Udhampur and Jammu Lok Sabha while it would be NC versus others in three Valley seats.
The Congress, which is part of the INDIA alliance, and BJP have named candidates for Udhampur and Jammu LS seats.
The Congress has given mandate to former MP and ex-BJP minister Lal Singh, who rejoined Congress last week, for the Udhampur LS seat while the grand old party has fielded former minister and party’s J&K Working president Raman Bhalla for the Jammu seat.
The BJP has retained the sitting MPs from both the LS seats. Senior J&K BJP leader and Union MoS PMO Jitendra Singh would be contesting the Udhampur LS seat for the third successive term while BJP’s Jugal Kishore would also be contesting Jammu LS seat for third consecutive term.
The DPAP of Ghulam Nabi Azad has fielded former MLA Ghulam Nabi Saroori from the Udhampur seat.
With NC, PDP backing Congress as part of INDIA alliance, it would be a direct contest between Congress’s Lal Singh versus Jitendra Singh in Udhampur seat and Raman Bhalla versus Jugal Kishore in Jammu seat.
In 2019 parliamentary polls, Jitendra defeated Congress’s Vikramaditya Singh by over 3.6 lakh votes while Jugal Kishore defeated Bhalla by over 3 lakh votes from Jammu seat.
While Jitendra and Jugal would focus their poll campaign on Article 370 abrogation and welfare schemes, the Congress would bank on anti-incumbency factor and snatching of statehood and downgrading erstwhile J&K state into the Union Territory.
For the Valley’s three LS seats, the contest would be between National Conference (NC) versus others. The NC has decided to contest all three Valley seats --- Anantnag-Rajouri, Srinagar and Baramula seats.
In 2019 polls, NC had won all the three Valley seats and has been insisted that it would contest all the three seats.
Recently rejoined Congress
The Congress has given mandate to former MP and ex-BJP minister Lal Singh, who rejoined Congress last week, for the Udhampur LS seat while the grand old party has fielded former minister and party’s J&K Working president Raman Bhalla for the Jammu seat.