BJP WEAK IN JAMMU CONGRESS WEAKER

The Jammu division of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which has 43 Assembly seats, could see a neck to neck fight on around 25 Assembly seats between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress-NC alliance.

- BADAR BASHIR

According to several leaders in the Jammu division, the remaining 18 seats (out of the 43) seem to be forgone conclusion as the Congress is sitting firm on around half a dozen seats and BJP could readily take about a dozen seats.

A political observer said, "In the Jammu division, there are no local parties that have any grip in any constituency. There are only four parties present- BJP, Congress, National Conference (NC), and People's Democratic Party (PDP). Moreover, PDP and NC have considerable presence only in the regions close to the Kashmir Valley. In the Hindi heartland of Jammu, only Congress and BJP are major parties."

Additionally, Jammu district has 11 Assembly constituencies, with BJP winning nine of those seats in 2014. However, political analysts suggest that both parties are currently weak in Jammu, and the one that is relatively stronger will likely secure more seats.