Ganesh Kendale
JAMMU: BJP’s below-par performance in Pir Panjal region of Rajouri and Poonch has come under scrutiny after the party managed to win only one of the eight assembly constituencies in these two frontier districts of Jammu zone. BJP won 29 seats, all in Jammu region, in the just-concluded J&K assembly polls but faced a rout in Pir Panjal.
Political observers attributed BJP’s failure in the mountainous region to the political dynamics following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, effects of polarisation over the Pahari quota row, and the rise in terrorist activities, despite the party’s claims of normalising the situation in the two districts sharing a border with Pakistan.
While BJP secured Kalakote-Sunderbani, National Conference (NC) and Congress swept the remaining seven constituencies — Nowshera, Rajouri (ST), Budhal (ST), Thannamandi (ST), Surankote (ST), Poonch Haveli, and Mendhar (ST).
BJP’s defeat is particularly striking as several top functionaries lost. The biggest upset came in Nowshera, where the party’s state president Ravinder Raina lost to NC’s Surinder Chowdhary, while general secretary Vibodh Gupta was defeated by Congress candidate Iftikhar Ahmed in Rajouri.
In Budhal, BJP’s former cabinet minister Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali lost to his nephew and NC candidate Javed Iqbal Choudhary. The party’s fortunes were no better in Poonch district, where the party lost all three seats.
Doda-based political analyst Tariq Mehmood said BJP had high expectations in Pir Panjal region, believing its decision to grant ST status to the Pahari community would secure their votes. “BJP anticipated a clean sweep, but things went wrong. Though BJP claimed to champion the cause of tribal communities in Poonch and Rajouri, they couldn’t win voters’ confidence.”
Mehmood said BJP also struggled to make inroads in Chenab valley, where it lost in Ramban and Doda. “AAP’s maiden victory in Doda poses a new challenge to both Congress and BJP,” he said.
According to university student Vishal Singh from Rajouri, BJP claimed there would be no scrapping of any group’s quota, but “NC managed to create the fear among Gujjars and Bakerwals that they would lose if BJP won”.
He said political signals in Pir Panjal region are influenced by its ethnic divisions. “In Rajouri, four assembly constituencies that are now part of Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat are aligned with Kashmir. Sunderbani-Kalakote, part of Jammu parliamentary seat, leans toward Jammu politics. BJP failed to exploit these divisions.”
