(Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)As Jammu and Kashmir plus Ladakh wrap up voting for the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday – the first significant polls in the state since the abrogation of Article 370 – the three regions saw distinct polls issues.
But one was common – insecurity over jobs and land, in the wake of the scrapping of the special status of the erstwhile state.
In the Valley, voters spoke about the loss of J&K’s “identity” and expressed concern over “changed demographics”.
Former Haryana CMs Bhupinder Singh Hooda (L) and Manohar Lal Khattar (R) campaigning ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
(Photos: Bhupinder Singh Hooda/ Manohar Lal Khattar/ X)Five years ago, the BJP had a clean sweep in Haryana, winning all its 10 Lok Sabha seats, including eight with huge margins.
Voters queuing up to exercise their franchise in Kupwara, Kashmir. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
As Jammu and Kashmir plus Ladakh wrap up voting for the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday – the first significant polls in the state since the abrogation of Article 370 – the three regions saw distinct polls issues. But one was common – insecurity over jobs and land, in the wake of the scrapping of the special status of the erstwhile state.
In the Valley, voters spoke about the loss of J&K’s “identity” and expressed concern over “changed demographics”. For Jammu, where there is more support for the Centre’s unilateral decision on Article 370, issues such as the jobs promised following the move not frutifying, apart from the inaccessibility of the incumbent BJP MPs, were the main issues.
Former Haryana CMs Bhupinder Singh Hooda (L) and Manohar Lal Khattar (R) campaigning ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. (Photos: Bhupinder Singh Hooda/ Manohar Lal Khattar/ X)
Five years ago, the BJP had a clean sweep in Haryana, winning all its 10 Lok Sabha seats, including eight with huge margins. But come Saturday, the party is likely to face an uphill task maintaining its tally – or worse, minimising its losses – due to multiple events since 2019.
If the Congress does manage to cause a dent, it would be a big achievement given that there was approximately a 30% vote-share gap between the two parties in 2019 – the BJP’s 58.02% votes, vs the Congress’s 28.42%. The other parties barely registered, with the Jannayak Janata Party getting 4.9% votes and the INLD 1.89% The May 25 polling is expected to remain similarly bipolar, with the Congress and BJP directly pitted against each other in nine seats.
