Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 15: With completion of elections in 67 Assembly constituencies including all 46 seats of Kashmir and four of Ladakh regions, remaining 20 seats of Jammu region spread over three districts of Jammu, Kathua and Rajouri have geared up from direct to multi-cornered contests with stakes very high for traditional political rivals-BJP and Congress, which hold 11 and 5 seats respectively in the last and final phase, scheduled for voting on December 20.
Five sitting Ministers-four from Congress and one from National Conference, several former Ministers, sitting and ex-legislators, former Members of Parliament (MPs) and bigwigs of various political parties were in the fray for high profile 20 constituencies of which 11 are held by BJP, five Congress, two by NC and one each by PDP and Independent.
The NC and Congress have fielded all their sitting Ministers, MLAs and almost all losers of 2008 for 20 seats while the BJP has dropped its seven sitting MLAs and brought in various new faces on 20 seats. The PDP has also fielded new faces in some of the seats. The BJP is riding high on Modi wave, who has already held seven election rallies in the State and will address two more tomorrow at Mandli, Billawar and MA Stadium, Jammu.
Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand (Congress) is seeking fourth term from Chhamb while Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Sham Lal Sharma, Housing Minister Raman Bhalla and Cooperatives Minister Dr Manohar Lal Sharma (all Congress) were in race for third term from Akhnoor, Gandhi Nagar and Billawar segments respectively. Planning and Development Minister and NC leader Ajay Sadhotra is trying to regain Marh seat, which he had lost to BJP’s Sukhnandan in 2008 after winning it in 1996 and 2002.
Tara Chand is involved in direct contest with BJP’s first timer Dr Krishan Lal from Chhamb (Reserve seat) though NC, PDP and BSP nominees were also in the fray. Sham Lal Sharma is also involved in one-to-one fight with another first timer of the BJP, Rajeev Sharma though NC’s Dr Gafoor Bhat is also a prominent contender apart from PDP and BSP nominees.
Raman Bhalla is involved in quadrangular contest with BJP’s Kavinder Gupta, PDP’s Amreek Singh Reen and NC’s Surinder Singh Bunty among others. Gupta had served as Mayor of Jammu for three terms but is contesting his first Assembly election. Dr Manohar Lal Sharma is facing BJP’s bigwig Dr Nirmal Singh in Billawar constituency of Kathua district in straight contest though NC and PDP nominees were also in the fray.
Another sitting Minister Ajay Sadhotra is facing BJP MLA Choudhary Sukhnandan in Marh constituency, where the contest has become quadrangular with Balwan Singh (Congress) and Suram Singh (PDP) also in the fray among others.
Another prestigious seat Nagrota has been witnessing multi-cornered contest among NC’s bigwig Devender Singh Rana, former Political Advisor to Chief Minister, BJP’s first timer Nand Kishore Sharma, Shivdev Singh, former MLA (Congress), Rakesh Wazir (BSP) and Hussain Ali Wafa (PDP) among others. Rana is sitting member of the Upper House while Nand Kishore is brother of Jugal Kishore, BJP State president, who had won Nagrota seat for two consecutive terms in 2002 and 2008 before being elected to Lok Sabha in May this year.
Jammu City East and West were also facing triangular contests. All three first timers-Rajesh Gupta (BJP), Vikram Malhotra (Congress) and Bharat Choudhary (PDP) were involved in triangular fight for Jammu East seat, which was presently held by BJP Legislature Party leader Ashok Khajuria, who was denied mandate by the party. Khajuria had won the seat in 1998 by-election but lost it to Yogesh Sawhney of Congress in 2002 before regaining it in 2008. NC’s two times nominated MLA Bimla Luthra is also in the fray from Jammu East.
Jammu West is too witnessing triangular fight among BJP’s first timer Sat Sharma, CA, Surinder Shingari (Congress) and Dharamvir Singh Jamwal (NC) though several other candidates were in the fray. Both Sharma and Jamwal are contesting the Assembly election for the first time while Shingari had contested West seat in 2008 as an Independent candidate and finished second ahead of then Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma of Congress. BJP has denied mandate to sitting MLA from West Prof Chaman Lal Gupta.
Bishnah is yet another prestigious seat, where Ashwani Sharma (BJP) is seeking third term after winning the seat twice as Jammu State Morcha (JSM) nominee. He had joined the BJP recently. He is facing Dr Kamal Arora (NC) and Gulchain Singh Charak (Congress). The contest is replica of 2008 when all three were in the fray. However, Dr Arora was then BSP candidate. PDP has fielded retired bureaucrat Faquir Chand Bhagat while BSP also has sizeable number of votes in Bishnah.
Sham Choudhary is the only BJP MLA apart from Sukhnandan Choudhary, who has been repeated by the BJP for second term from Suchetgarh seat. Of 11 MLAs in 2008, BJP has given only to Sham and Sukhnandan and denied the ticket to eight others while Jugal had already vacated Nagrota seat. Like Bishnah, Suchetgarh seat is also facing a virtual repeat of 2008 elections with Sham facing NC’s Taranjit Singh Tony, PDP’s Tarlok Singh Bajwa (former Rajya Sabha member) and RS Chib of Congress.
BJP has also replaced its candidate in RS Pura and Domana (both Reserve seats) in Jammu district. The party has fielded Dr Gagan Bhagat in RS Pura and Bali Bhagat in Domana. Gagan is facing former Minister Suman Bhagat (Congress), BR Kundal, sitting MLC, former Power Minister and Chief Secretary (Independent) and Romesh Motton (NC) apart from BSP and PDP nominees. Suman had lost to Prof Gharu Bhagat of BJP in 2008 in RS Pura. The BSP had won the seat in 1996 and Suman in 2002.
Bali Bhagat, who had won Ramban seat in 1996 but lost in 2002 and 2008, has shifted to Domana and is facing former Minister Mula Ram of Congress among others.
Another BJP first timer Rajeev Jasrotia is involved in multi cornered fight at Kathua with sitting Independent MLA Charanjit Singh Jasrotia, Som Raj Majotra (BSP), former Minister and 2002 MLA Babu Singh (Congress) and Subash Sharma (PDP) son of former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma among others.
Mangat Ram Sharma’s another son, Rajnish Sharma alias Mian is Congress candidate in Bani, where he was facing BJP’s Jeewan Lal, sitting MLA and BJP rebel Master Lal Chand, NC’s Ghulam Hyder Malik, former Deputy Speaker and Mohammad Saleem Lone (PDP) among others. Hyder Malik had won Bani seat for NC in 1996 while Prem Sagar Aziz of Congress wrested it in 2002. The seat had gone to Master Lal Chand in 2008.
Choudhary Lal Singh, who had switched over to BJP from Congress after Lok Sabha elections, is BJP’s candidate from Basohli while sitting MLA Jagdish Raj Sapolia, who had joined Congress after being denied mandate by the BJP, is the Congress candidate. Former Minister Rangil Singh is contesting from Basohli as a PDP nominee.
BJP has put up another fresh face Kuldeep Kumar in Hiranagar while Congress had repeated its 2002 MLA Girdhari Lal Chalotra, who had lost the seat in 2008. BJP has denied the mandate to its sitting MLA Durga Dass.
BJP has given mandate to former Minister and ex-Lok Sabha member Talib Hussain in 2002. Talib had won Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat in 2000 by-election. He had recently joined the BJP. Sitting MLA and former Minister Shabir Khan has been repeated by the Congress while PDP has given mandate to Choudhary Qamar. NC has fielded its former Rajya Sabha member Mirza Abdul Rashid. BJP leader Yogesh Sharma is also in the fray as an Independent candidate. NC had won the seat in 1996 and 2002 but Congress had wrested it in 2008.
Nowshera seat is headed for quadrangular fight among Ravinder Raina (BJP), Surinder Choudhary (PDP), RS Sharma, sitting MLA of NC and Ravinder Sharma, MLC (Congress). Kalakote seat is facing triangular contest among sitting NC MLA Rashpal Singh, former MLA Ashok Sharma (Congress) and Abdul Ghani Kohli (BJP). Rashpal Singh had won the seat for two consecutive terms in 2002 and 2008 while Ashok Sharma was the winner of 1996 election.
PDP’s Zulfikar Choudhary is seeking second term from Darhal seat of Rajouri district. He is facing Choudhary Liaquat Ali (NC), Mohammad Iqbal Malik (Congress) and Thakur Puran Singh, former Minister (BJP).
Thakur Puran Singh had won the seat as an Independent candidate in 2002 but later joined the Congress and served as MoS Forests. He had joined the BJP recently.
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