Campaigning for Udhampur seat comes to an end

Strap: Modi, Yogi and Shah lead BJP’s star-studded campaign; Pilot, Babbar hold fort for Congress

Campaigning for the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency came to a close on Wednesday evening after weeks of high-profile visits to the two Lok Sabha constituencies of Jammu and Udhampur from the likes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

The PM visited Udhampur’s Battal Balian on April 12, which was followed up by Shah’s visit to Paloura on April 16.

Sandwiched between them was Rajnath Singh’s visit to Kathua’s Basohli on April 15.

Before all these leaders, however, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath had on April 10 visited Kathua and invoked Ram Temple, revocation of Article 370, overall development, welfare schemes for poor strata and a “scared” and “beleaguered” Pakistan to woo the voters.

As per 2011 census, the Udhampur constituency has 58.15% Hindu population and Muslims comprise 40.68%. It has over 16.23 lakh electorates.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strategists carefully chose big names for the Hindu heartland to be star campaigners for the party. The revocation of Article 370, according to them, opened the floodgates of overall development in Jammu and Kashmir, restoring peace and stability. The leaders also weaved in Ram Mandir while campaigning for party candidates Dr Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore.

Similarly, BJP leaders Shahnawaz Hussain and Anurag Thakur also campaigned in Kishtwar and Udhampur to propel winning prospects of the two incumbent MPs.

Neck-and-neck fight

The saffron party, which anticipates a neck-and-neck fight with Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh, has gone full-throttle with a high-voltage campaign.

However, the Congress, despite good turnout in its rallies for Choudhary Lal Singh, remained low-key. No star campaigner from the party, except Raj Babbar, Sachin Pilot and national spokesperson Imran Pratap Garhi, campaigned for Lal Singh.

In their campaigns, Congress leaders attacked the BJP over “unemployment, inflation, lack of civic amenities, high taxes and recruitment scams that frustrated the youth.”

Raj Babbar visited Udhampur on April 13 to canvas for Lal Singh, a day after PM’s rally on April 12 and the rally attracted big crowds.

The Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, traditionally a Rajput dominant seat, goes to polls in the first phase on April 19.

Lal Singh was arrested in November last year by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case, and is out on bail and campaigning in the interiors of the constituency.

AICC leader Pilot visited Kathua and RS Pura on April 16 and addressed rallies at Kathua’s Ram Leela Ground and in Suchetgarh area of RS Pura for the party candidates—Lal Singh and Raman Bhalla.

Similarly, Congress national spokesperson Imran Pratapgarhi visited Banihal in Ramban.

National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah and son Omar Abdullah also campaigned for the Congress candidates, spearheading the charge in Batote, Jammu and in Chenab Valley region comprising Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar districts.

However, PDP, also a member of the Opposition INDIA bloc, stayed away from campaigning on the two Jammu seats amid fissures in the alliance.

Azad’s party’s spices up competition

Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) has also fielded three-time former MLA Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, setting the stage for a multi-cornered contest.

Azad, a former CM, campaigned extensively for Saroori in Kathua, Doda, Ramban and Kishtwar.

Over ₹2 cr cash, liquor, drugs seized: RO

District commissioner of Kathua Dr Rakesh Minhas, who is the returning officer for Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, said, “Mode code of conduct violations by various candidates were observed by the authorities. The notices were issued to them and the candidates furnished their replies.”

“We also made a seizure of over ₹2 crores that included cash, liquor and drugs,” he added.