Jammu/Nagrota/Udhampur: As his Bharat Jodo Yatra left Jammu and entered the Kashmir valley Friday, Rahul Gandhi left a path of hope within the Jammu Congress.
Hundreds thronged the streets when the yatra entered Jammu & Kashmir final week. Crowds on both facet of Gandhi’s tight safety ring as he walked throughout the Jammu area, buoyed the celebration cadre.
Going by numbers, the Congress has over time change into nearly irrelevant within the area.
The celebration’s seat tally — from a excessive of 20 of 32 seats within the Jammu area within the 1987 J&Okay meeting polls to fifteen of 37 seats (post-1995 delimitation) within the 2002 J&Okay election, to a mere 5 of 37 seats in Jammu area within the 2014 polls, signifies its place on the political margins at present.
The Jammu area has 10 districts and one among them is the Hindu-majority Jammu district. 5 of the ten districts — Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Doda and Ramban — are Muslim-majority.
In 2014, the Congress didn’t win a single seat in Jammu district. Two of the 5 meeting seats it received had been from Reasi district and one every from Kishtwar, Ramban and Poonch districts.
In the course of the earlier two greatest performances of the Congress in Jammu area — in 1987 and 2002 — it had received the utmost seats in Jammu district.
The Congress’ marginalisation within the area was additional made evident final week from the crop of leaders who walked with Gandhi as a part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
In Jammu’s Kathua district, the celebration owed a wholesome gathering to former Congressman Chaudhary Lal Singh, who had confronted flak for allegedly supporting the Kathua rape accused in 2018.
A two-time Congress MP from Udhampur, Singh jumped ship to hitch the BJP shortly after the 2014 Lok Sabha election. In 2019, he shaped his personal Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Occasion.
Seen by Rahul’s facet throughout the yatra had been Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Vikar Rasool Wani, working president Raman Bhalla, former JKPCC president Ghulam Ahmad Mir, former Peoples Democratic Occasion (PDP) MP Tariq Karra and JKPCC’s chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma.
Whereas Mir and Karra are from Kashmir, Wani, Bhalla and Sharma are from Jammu. Not one of the Congress’ present or former Lok Sabha MPs confirmed up.
Aside from that, the celebration managed to convey again some leaders who had stop it to hitch former celebration chief Ghulam Nabi Azad’s new outfit (Democratic Progressive Azad Occasion).
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‘Occasion in revival mode’
Meeting elections had been final held in J&Okay in 2014, with the PDP-BJP alliance coming to energy. Governor’s rule was imposed within the state in June 2018 after the BJP pulled out of the coalition authorities.
In November 2018, the legislative meeting was dissolved by then Governor Satya Pal Malik after PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti staked declare to kind the federal government with the assist of the Congress and the Nationwide Convention (NC).
In 2019, the central authorities revoked the particular standing of Jammu & Kashmir and bifurcated it into two Union Territories (UT) — Jammu & Kashmir division and Ladakh division. Elections to the UT, which had been awaiting the delimitation train, are actually anticipated to be held quickly.
Of the 5 elections held in J&Okay because the rise of militancy within the late Nineteen Eighties, the Congress was a part of the federal government in 1987 (in alliance with NC), 2002 (with PDP), and 2008 (with NC once more).
Speaking to ThePrint, JKPCC working president Raman Bhalla stated the “Congress is already in revival mode in J&Okay”.
“For 9 years (since 2014) we’ve been out of energy, however see how many individuals have come out for Rahulji’s yatra. Folks used to say that after Azad sahib, nobody will likely be left. The Congress is a thought and we are going to march ahead,” he asserted.
He additional stated the Congress has been “massively impacted by the Bharat Jodo Yatra” and that elections will now be fought on “actual points”.
Spokesperson Sharma, who believes that anti-incumbency was the rationale behind the Congress’ defeat within the 2014 election, when it was lowered to simply 15 seats in J&Okay, echoed Bhalla.
“We expect there will likely be a revival,” he stated.
In keeping with Sharma, the Bharat Jodo Yatra has proven that the Congress is gaining floor in J&Okay. “Points taken up by Rahul Gandhi are resonating properly with the folks,” he added.
Political analyst Zafar Chaudhary, nevertheless, has a unique view on the matter. He stated the celebration won’t have the ability to make main beneficial properties.
“The Bharat Jodo Yatra did put Congress in renewed highlight because it handed by way of Jammu, however I don’t suppose there are any main organisational beneficial properties the celebration stands to make. It seems just like the yatra handed by way of an insulated tube — folks find out about it however they don’t really feel concerned,” he stated, including: “I feel the J&Okay unit of the Congress handled Jammu because the route and Kashmir because the vacation spot of the yatra.”
He additional cited the rise of the BJP, the dearth of a Jammu-based face and the Kashmir-centric agenda of its coalition companions as the rationale behind the Congress’ decline in J&Okay over time.
The rise of BJP
In keeping with Chaudhary, the decline of the Congress in Jammu area is to be understood when it comes to the rise of the BJP, whose vote share in J&Okay surged to 23 per cent in 2014 from 12.45 per cent in 2008.
Till 2008, when it went on to win 11 seats in Jammu area for the primary time, the BJP had not been a serious participant in J&Okay. The Congress had its means within the Jammu area, whereas the 2 different main regional events — the NC and PDP — held sway within the Kashmir valley.
The PDP additionally got here into the image solely in 2002, when it fought the J&Okay meeting elections for the primary time and received 16 seats beneath Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Within the ensuing coalition authorities with the Congress, Sayeed grew to become chief minister of J&Okay for the primary half, and Azad for the second.
“The Congress didn’t exist in Jammu & Kashmir till 1965,” stated Chaudhary, referring to the most important improvement that yr when the designation of ‘Prime Minister of Jammu & Kashmir’ was modified to that of chief minister and of Sadar-e-Riyasat to Governor. This introduced the 2 prime posts within the state on a par with different states of the nation.
In 1965, the Nationwide Convention was additionally merged with the Indian Nationwide Congress, and have become the Jammu & Kashmir department of the Congress.
“There was an try to induce a nationalist temperament by creating area for the nationwide celebration (Congress) in J&Okay. In Jammu area, the Congress started to take root. Akin to the present environment, politicians in Jammu weren’t seen nationalist sufficient in the event that they weren’t with the Congress,” identified Chaudhary.
He added: “The yr 1987 was the best level (for the Congress). (However) with the rise of militancy within the early Nineties, the Congress got here to be blamed. The BJP picked up the Kashmir insurgency as its nationwide agenda and labored extensively within the Jammu area. (BJP leaders) LK Advani, MM Joshi and others grew to become family names, even within the hills. The BJP gained electorally by polling properly within the 1996 election.”
Congress’ Sharma informed ThePrint: “After 1996, we shaped the federal government twice. In Jammu, sure there was resistance. In 2002, we did enhance our tally. Then in 2008, the BJP was in a position to make a difficulty out of the Amarnath land row. After that, there have been 12 years of anti-incumbency… polarisation was additionally at its peak.”
Talking to ThePrint, Bhalla asserted that “these occasions” had been completely different and issues have modified now.
“These had been the occasions of coalition politics, after which got here communal polarisation. However now, folks have understood that nothing could be gained out of communal politics. That’s why Bharat Jodo Yatra is successful right here,” he stated.
“Issues (for the Congress) will revive. In Jammu & Kashmir, (actual) points had been ignored. These had been the occasions of militancy. Polls was once boycotted, however now issues have modified,” he added.
‘Kashmir-centric agenda, lack of Jammu-based face’
In two coalition governments, the Congress submitted to the insurance policies of its companions, stated Chaudhary.
“For 2 phrases in energy between 2002 and 2014, the Congress clearly submitted to the PDP and NC (Kashmir-based events) on the coverage stage. (The Congress) obtained extra ministers, extra seats within the council and extra workplaces of revenue, however on the coverage stage it was the Kashmir-centric agenda that prevailed in these years,” he added.
A Congress chief who didn’t want to be named indicated that the celebration’s central management had additionally restricted Jammu-based leaders.
“It’s not that leaders in Jammu weren’t produced. Congress leaders used to come back out from Jammu as properly, however the system in Delhi was once completely different,” stated the chief.
The final main face of the Congress in J&Okay was Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Union minister and chief minister who hails from Jammu’s Doda district. He broke away from the celebration final yr and shaped his personal Democratic Azad Occasion. Together with his exit, the Congress is nearly faceless in Jammu in addition to in Kashmir.
Chaudhary believes Azad had some function to play within the revival of the Congress in J&Okay in 2002.
“In 2002, Ghulam Nabi Azad projected himself as a possible CM. Jammu noticed in his declare a chance for somebody from the area to change into CM for the primary time ever. The core BJP/RSS circles additionally neglected Azad’s Muslim id and allowed Jammu to rally behind Azad as that may convey energy down from Kashmir to Jammu,” he stated.
“The outcome was that BJP’s tally was lowered to only one seat within the election of 2002, whereas the Congress emerged robust and resurgent,” Chaudhary defined.
He additional stated that the celebration over time didn’t encourage any determine to emerge who can be widespread throughout each Jammu and Kashmir, and identified that Kashmir-based leaders together with Mir and Peerzada Sayeed have held the JKPCC presidency for more often than not.
“Lal Singh (Jammu-based chief) was a serious voice however he was nixed in 2014. Mir held the JKPCC presidency for eight lengthy years, earlier than him (Saifuddin) Soz was the chief for a few years and so was Peerzada Sayeed. The final noticeable Congress chief in Jammu was Girdhari Lal Dogra and anybody of some consequence after him was Mangat Ram Sharma,” stated Chaudhary. Dogra handed away in 1987 and Sharma in 2016.
When requested concerning the lack of Jammu-based management within the Congress, Bhalla stated: “Issues have modified. For the primary time, a Hindu working president has come out from Jammu. Regularly issues will get higher.”
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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