One of these seats, Anantnag-Rajouri, has polling constituencies in both Kashmir and Jammu divisions. Anantnag and Kulgam districts of the valley and Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu division form the voting areas of this Lok Sabha constituency.
The BJP enjoys major support in Poonch and Rajouri districts, although the National Conference (NC) has fielded its trump card, senior political and religious Gujjar/Bakarwal leader, Mian Altaf Ahmed, here.
There are more than eight lakh voters in Poonch and Rajouri districts and of these, 3.40 lakh voters are from the hill community. The Paharis were granted ST status by the BJP-led central government, fulfilling a 70-year-old demand of the community.This community forms a large vote bank in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency. Additionally, there are Gujjar/Bakarwal and Hindu voters in Rajouri and Poonak districts.
BJP Jammu and Kashmir president Ravinder Raina is from Lamberi village in Nowshera area of Rajouri district and had won the assembly elections from Nowshera Sagar in 2015.
Raina has considerable political influence in Nowshera and other places in Rajouri and Poonch districts. After leaving a high paying job in the Merchant Navy he worked hard in his constituency.He is a postgraduate in international law. BJP also has a presence in Anantnag and Kulgam districts, although the party cannot match the large presence of NC and People's Democratic Party (PDP) supporters in these districts.
Despite the possibility of fighting against the valley-centric NC and PDP, the BJP did not field its candidate in the constituency.
After being ignored by National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah, PDP's Mehbooba Mufti jumped into the electoral fray in Anantnag-Rajore constituency. Mehbooba's presence will influence Kashmiri-speaking voters whom N hoped would vote for her.
Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party headed by Syed Altaf Bukhari has fielded Zafar Iqbal Manhas from this constituency.Manhas belongs to the Pahari community and hails from Shopian district.
Apni party is expected to get hill vote share from Poonch and Rajour districts. The BJP is likely to support its party in Anantnag-Rajouri and Srinagar constituencies. Ashraf Mir has been fielded by his party against NK Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and PDP's Waheed Para in Srinagar.
People's Conference (PC)'s Sajjad Ghani Lone is contesting against NC's Oma Abdullah and PDP's Faiyaz Mir in the Baramulla constituency.He is most likely to be supported by the BJP cadre in the constituency. Sajad Lone has also sought support from his party for what he calls anti-NC votes. There is logic in what Sajad Lone says because the NC has won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat 10 times in the past, although its vote share is divided by that of its rivals. It was much less than the votes taken.
Their intention is to consolidate the anti-NC vote so that this vote translates into victory for those who had opposed the NC during the last 10 elections but could not do so due to lack of unity.
Apni Party is sure to support Sajjad Lone in Baramulla constituency and will not field any candidate against him in this constituency.It remains to be seen whether the anti-NC vote, which has been divided during the last 10 elections, will unite and upset its apple cart in Baramulla.
In Srinagar constituency, the NC has fielded Shia Muslim candidate Sai Ruhullah Mehdi, who is from Budgam district.
Majority of voters in Srinagar Lok Sabha seat are Sunni Muslims and looking at the history of voters in this constituency, Sunni voters have always supported Sunni candidate. NC has a large presence in most of the polling areas in this constituency and the party is expected to That his supporters will vote for Ruhullah Mehdi.
The BJP is most likely to support its party's Ashraf Mir in Srinaga constituency.Syed Altaf Bukhari has expressed confidence that the voters of 202 are not inspired by hollow slogans and promises.
Bukhari says that he believes in the politics of achievable objectives. He told the media on Saturday that he supports the PM and has no hesitation in accepting it. He said that when BJP made Omar Abdullah a minister in its cabinet, then why did the NC talk about BJP being bad? Didn't you say?
He said that Shiv Sena has recently promised to support NC and PDP. “Shiv Sena has suddenly become a good political party for NC and PDP,” he said.
Bukhari claimed that he is an Indian who does not believe in hidden nationalists or quasi-separatist politics.He said he was seeking votes for statehood, land rights, employment education, tourism, healthcare and other achievable things.
He said, "Like my opponents, I am not asking the voters to give bicycles by promising that I will take the voters to the moon on a bicycle."
What needs to be kept an eye on is whether practicality, achievable promises and support from BJP can energize voters in Srinagar and Baramulla or whether they will vote for NC and PDP to maintain distance between Srinagar and Delhi.
The BJP enjoys major support in Poonch and Rajouri districts, although the National Conference (NC) has fielded its trump card, senior political and religious Gujjar/Bakarwal leader, Mian Altaf Ahmed, here.
There are more than eight lakh voters in Poonch and Rajouri districts and of these, 3.40 lakh voters are from the hill community. The Paharis were granted ST status by the BJP-led central government, fulfilling a 70-year-old demand of the community.This community forms a large vote bank in the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency. Additionally, there are Gujjar/Bakarwal and Hindu voters in Rajouri and Poonak districts.
BJP Jammu and Kashmir president Ravinder Raina is from Lamberi village in Nowshera area of Rajouri district and had won the assembly elections from Nowshera Sagar in 2015.
Raina has considerable political influence in Nowshera and other places in Rajouri and Poonch districts. After leaving a high paying job in the Merchant Navy he worked hard in his constituency.He is a postgraduate in international law. BJP also has a presence in Anantnag and Kulgam districts, although the party cannot match the large presence of NC and People's Democratic Party (PDP) supporters in these districts.
Despite the possibility of fighting against the valley-centric NC and PDP, the BJP did not field its candidate in the constituency.
After being ignored by National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah, PDP's Mehbooba Mufti jumped into the electoral fray in Anantnag-Rajore constituency. Mehbooba's presence will influence Kashmiri-speaking voters whom N hoped would vote for her.
Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party headed by Syed Altaf Bukhari has fielded Zafar Iqbal Manhas from this constituency.Manhas belongs to the Pahari community and hails from Shopian district.
Apni party is expected to get hill vote share from Poonch and Rajour districts. The BJP is likely to support its party in Anantnag-Rajouri and Srinagar constituencies. Ashraf Mir has been fielded by his party against NK Syed Ruhullah Mehdi and PDP's Waheed Para in Srinagar.
People's Conference (PC)'s Sajjad Ghani Lone is contesting against NC's Oma Abdullah and PDP's Faiyaz Mir in the Baramulla constituency.He is most likely to be supported by the BJP cadre in the constituency. Sajad Lone has also sought support from his party for what he calls anti-NC votes. There is logic in what Sajad Lone says because the NC has won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat 10 times in the past, although its vote share is divided by that of its rivals. It was much less than the votes taken.
Their intention is to consolidate the anti-NC vote so that this vote translates into victory for those who had opposed the NC during the last 10 elections but could not do so due to lack of unity.
Apni Party is sure to support Sajjad Lone in Baramulla constituency and will not field any candidate against him in this constituency.It remains to be seen whether the anti-NC vote, which has been divided during the last 10 elections, will unite and upset its apple cart in Baramulla.
In Srinagar constituency, the NC has fielded Shia Muslim candidate Sai Ruhullah Mehdi, who is from Budgam district.
Majority of voters in Srinagar Lok Sabha seat are Sunni Muslims and looking at the history of voters in this constituency, Sunni voters have always supported Sunni candidate. NC has a large presence in most of the polling areas in this constituency and the party is expected to That his supporters will vote for Ruhullah Mehdi.
The BJP is most likely to support its party's Ashraf Mir in Srinaga constituency.Syed Altaf Bukhari has expressed confidence that the voters of 202 are not inspired by hollow slogans and promises.
Bukhari says that he believes in the politics of achievable objectives. He told the media on Saturday that he supports the PM and has no hesitation in accepting it. He said that when BJP made Omar Abdullah a minister in its cabinet, then why did the NC talk about BJP being bad? Didn't you say?
He said that Shiv Sena has recently promised to support NC and PDP. “Shiv Sena has suddenly become a good political party for NC and PDP,” he said.
Bukhari claimed that he is an Indian who does not believe in hidden nationalists or quasi-separatist politics.He said he was seeking votes for statehood, land rights, employment education, tourism, healthcare and other achievable things.
He said, "Like my opponents, I am not asking the voters to give bicycles by promising that I will take the voters to the moon on a bicycle."
What needs to be kept an eye on is whether practicality, achievable promises and support from BJP can energize voters in Srinagar and Baramulla or whether they will vote for NC and PDP to maintain distance between Srinagar and Delhi.
