Bharatiya Janata Party claimed a strong second position despite failing to secure any seats in Kashmir. Significant wins in newly established constituencies marked its victory, but the party struggled with its candidate choices, resulting in losses in key areas, reports Babra Wani
For the last five years, if anybody was on the roads against the Naya Kashmir roll-out, it was Jammu. In the 2024 assembly elections, when the people had to take a call, they reposed their trust in the BJP, giving them a record of 29 seats in a 90-berth house. This offers an idea of the unpredictability of politics in Jammu and Kashmir.
BJP is the second largest political party, playing second fiddle to JKNC and has now 47 seats on its own. The JKNC had fielded nine Hindu candidates, including one woman; two were elected. In contrast, the Congress’s 19 Hindu and two Sikh candidates, mostly from Jammu, did not secure a single seat, with most finishing second.
Wining Around
The BJP has achieved a consecutive victory in all seven reserved Scheduled Castes (SCs) seats. However, the party failed to secure six Scheduled Tribes seats in Jammu, a region where it was presumed it had a strong loyal base.
The right-wing party won five out of six newly created constituencies, established following the Delimitation after Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised. Notably, these constituencies are home to prominent shrines, including Katra (Shri Mata Vaishno Devi), Reasi (Shiv Khori), Paddar-Nagseni (Machail Mata), Billawar (Sukrala Mata), and Jasrota (Jasrota Wali Mata).
The BJP secured significant wins in the SC-reserved seats of Akhnoor, Marh, Bishnah, Suchetgarh, Ramgarh, Kathua, and Ramnagar. Mohan Lal Bhagat, a former SSP, won Akhnoor by nearly 24,000 votes, defeating Congress candidate Ashok Kumar, a retired JKAS officer. Rajeev Kumar won Bishnah by over 16,000 votes, defeating Neeraj Kundan.
Surinder Kumar secured the Marh seat, defeating former Minister and Congress leader Mula Ram by approximately 23,000 votes. Gharu Ram Bhagat won Suchetgarh for the BJP with a margin of almost 11,000 votes, defeating Congress candidate Bushan Lal.
Dr Bharat Bushan, a former JKAS officer, claimed the Kathua seat by around 12,000 votes, beating BSP candidate Sandeep Majotra. Dr Devender Manyal, a former minister, won the Ramgarh seat in Samba district with approximately 14,000 votes over Yashpal Kundal, another former Congress minister.
Sunil Bhardwaj of the BJP emerged victorious in Ramnagar, defeating Ashri Devi of the Panthers Party by more than 8,000 votes. However, the BJP suffered significant losses, losing all six ST Reserve seats in the Jammu division: Rajouri, Thannamandi, Budhal, Mendhar, Poonch, and Gulabgarh.
The Congress won the Rajouri seat, while Thannamandi was claimed by an independent candidate. The JKNC secured victories in the remaining four seats.
The BJP government at the centre designated nine seats for Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for the first time. Additionally, the Modi government granted Pahari-speaking people (PSP) a 10 per cent reservation in a separate ST category. Paharis have a significant population in Rajouri and Poonch districts, where the BJP secured only one out of eight seats.
However, the BJP performed well in the Jammu division, winning five of the six newly constituted seats: Paddar, Doda West, Udhampur East, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, and Ramgarh. The party lost Thannamandi.
How It Happened?
Political analysts attribute the BJP’s losses in some areas to the selection of unsuitable candidates. “For instance, in Ramban, the BJP won in 2014 but lost this time due to fielding an inappropriate candidate,” one analyst noted.
Two of the three retired officers who contested the elections emerged victorious. Mohan Lal Bhagat, a former Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), and Dr Bharat Bushan, a former JKAS officer, won the Akhnoor and Kathua seats respectively for the BJP.
Mohan Lal Kaith, another former SSP, lost in Marh as an independent candidate. Rakesh Bhagat, the Congress candidate in Akhnoor, is also a retired JKAS officer.
The BJP lost four seats it held since 2014: Ramban, Chhamb, Nowshera, and Bani. However, the party gained new seats in Nagrota, Udhampur, and Bishnah, and secured five of the six newly created seats following delimitation.
The Scenario
The BJP fielded 62 candidates in Jammu and Kashmir, with only one of its 25 Muslim candidates securing his security deposit. In Jammu, 28 Hindu and one Sikh candidate won.
The BJP, NC, and Congress each had one female candidate in Jammu. Shagun Parihar, the BJP’s sole winning female candidate in the Jammu division, defeated former minister and NC strongman Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo by over 500 votes.
In another closely watched contest, NC’s Pooja Thakur, DDC Chairperson Kishtwar, lost the Paddar-Nagseni seat to BJP leader and former minister Sunil Sharma by more than 1,400 votes. Congress candidate Kajal finished fourth in Bani.
Sofi Yousif, vice-president of Jammu and Kashmir BJP, secured only 3,716 votes in Srigufwara-Bijbehara. The winning NC candidate garnered 33,299 votes, followed by PDP’s Iltija Mufti with 23,529 votes.
A horde of former ministers lost the election: Tara Chand, Raman Bhalla, Mula Ram, Yogesh Sawhney, Yashpal Kundal, Choudhary Lal Singh, Dr Manohar Lal Sharma, and Vikar Rasool Wani from Congress; independents Aijaz Khan, Ghulam Mohd Saroori, and Jugal Kishore Sharma; DPAP’s Abdul Majid Wani and Choudhary Gharu Ram; NC’s Khalid Nujeeb Suhrawardhy, Sajjad Kitchloo, and Ajay Sadhotra; JKAP’s Manjit Singh; Panthers Party’sHarshdev Singh; and BJP’s Zulfikar Choudhary and the late Mushtaq Ahmed Bukhari.
In contrast, BJP ministers Sham Sharma, Sunil Sharma, Shakti Raj Parihar, Pawan Gupta, Rajiv Jasrotia, Chander Prakash Ganga, Surjit Singh Slathia, and Devender Manyal retained their seats. However, several ministers, including Deputy Chief Ministers Dr Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta, Choudhary Sukhnandan, Bali Bhagat, Choudhary Sham, and Sat Sharma, were denied BJP tickets.
Congress suffered significant losses in the Jammu division, losing all five seats it won in 2014: Surankote, Reasi, Gulabgarh, Banihal, and Inderwal. Nevertheless, the party secured the Rajouri seat this time around. The National Conference, which emerged victorious, had previously won Bishnah, Nagrota, and Mendhar seats. Although it lost the first two this time, it retained Mendhar and gained Banihal, Ramban, Gulabgarh, Nowshera, Darhal, and Poonch.
A Srinagar-based political observer credits the BJP’s aggressive campaign, spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, for the party’s historic achievement. “The party has not only secured its best-ever seat count but also the highest vote share in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections,” the observer noted.
According to the Election Commission of India’s data, the BJP garnered 25.04 per cent of the votes, surpassing the single largest party, the National Conference, which secured 23.43 per cent. The vote share breakdown reveals the following figures: National Conference secured 23.43 per cent, BJP 25.04 per cent, Congress 11.97 per cent, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 8.87 per cent, NOTA 1.48 per cent, Bahujan Samaj Party 0.96 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPPI) 1.16 per cent, Samajwadi Party 0.14 per cent, Communist Party of India (Marxist) 0.59 per cent, Aam Aadmi Party 0.52 per cent, and Janata Dal-United 0.13 per cent.
Prime Minister Modi expressed pride in the BJP’s performance in Jammu and Kashmir and thanked those who voted for the party. “I am proud of the BJP’s performance in Jammu and Kashmir,” he tweeted. “I thank all those who have placed their trust in us. We will keep working for the welfare of Jammu and Kashmir. I also appreciate the efforts of our Karyakartas.”
Modi highlighted the significance of the elections, noting they were the first since the removal of Articles 370 and 35(A) and saw a high turnout, demonstrating the people’s faith in democracy. “I commend every person of Jammu and Kashmir for this,” he added.
The BJP secured 29 out of 43 Assembly seats in the Jammu region, with Congress winning only one seat. Reddy noted the BJP also received a significant percentage of votes and performed comparatively well in the Kashmir valley. Party co-incharge Ashish Sood echoed this sentiment, highlighting the BJP’s strong performance in Jammu. “We won 29 seats in Jammu region, while Congress secured only one seat despite contesting 32 seats,” Sood said.
Development Focus
The BJP’s focus on development issues paid off, according to a party representative, who noted that senior Congress leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and former Minister Raman Bhalla, lost their elections. “The shop of love has shut down in both J&K and Haryana,” he added.
In Muslim-majority areas of Poonch andSurankote, the BJP emerged as the runner-up. The party secured 6,000 votes in Kupwara. The representative, Ashish Sood, described the mandate as fractured, as no single party reached the 48-seat threshold for a simple majority.
Tarun Chugh, the BJP’s election in-charge in Jammu and Kashmir, credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for garnering more votes than the National Conference. “People have favoured the BJP’s development-oriented policies,” Chugh said. “Around 1.4 million people rejected the NC and voted for Prime Minister Modi’s vision of unity and progress.”
A senior journalist from Srinagar, speaking anonymously, attributed the BJP’s success in the Jammu division to its 2019 decision and subsequent policies. “The BJP’s Agniveer scheme resonated with the people,” the journalist said. “In the Jammu division, the party benefited the people more than in the Kashmir division, which reflected in these Assembly Elections results. The Delimitation also favoured the party, as the number of seats increased from 83 to 90, mostly in Jammu division.”
Historically, the BJP has performed well in Jammu. In 2014, the party won 67.5 per cent of seats, and in 2024, it gained 67.44 per cent. In 2014, the BJP won 25 seats, while the PDP secured 28 seats.
Since 2014, the BJP has secured three consecutive wins in the Jammu division, including in Lok Sabha elections.
