BJPs plan of giving the first Chief Minister from Jammu is working properly; Party keen to perform well in both elections in J&K

BJPs plan of giving the first Chief Minister from Jammu is working properly; Party keen to perform well in both elections in J&K

POONCH TODAY NEWS

POONCH/JAMMU: After the abrogation of temporary articles 370 and 35-A on August 5, 2019, things strongly indicated that the BJP had something else stored in the mind for the Jammu region, and the same is now seeing the light of day.

After the passing of the J&K reorganization (amendment) bill the other day, the government will nominate five members, including Kashmiri Pandits and POJK refugees, to the legislative assembly. Elections will be held for 90 seats, and the total seats will be 95, with voting rights to five nominated members. 48 seats will be the majority mark for any political party or a group of parties to form a government. Also, the grant of ST status to Paharis will help the BJP in the parliamentary elections and in implementing its plan of giving the first CM from the Jammu region on the ground after the assembly elections. It is important to mention here that the Kashmir-based leaders over the last seven decades never allowed the Jammu region to have political empowerment, despite the Jammu region having a large area but being given limited assembly seats. However, Kashmir province has less area but had more seats than Jammu before the delimitation exercise. It showed that Kashmiri leaders, over the years, never allowed the Jammu region to prosper. Moreover, when former PM Indira Gandhi introduced the word “secularism” in the Indian constitution, Kashmir-based politicians who were at the helm of affairs never accepted the word “secularism” because they always wanted J&K to have a majority projection to run their political factories, which was a questionable example in the country as it was against the basic structure of the constitution, which was amended in 1976 by the late PM Indira Gandhi. Even Mehbooba Mufti, before the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A, said that nobody would be allowed to change the majority character of J&K, and it was a clear indication that Kashmir-based leaders always rejected the secular character of the constitution in J&K. However, with the passage of time, Kashmir-based leaders were paid back in the same coin when the Union Government, after abrogating temporary articles 370 and 35-A, gave a strong signal that the traditional blackmail politics of a few Kashmir-based political parties would not be tolerated anymore. As a result, many central laws were implemented in J&K by the Modi 2.0 government for the first time. Now, in the J&K assembly, Jammu region will have 43 seats plus the nomination of five people, including women. Earlier, in the 2014 assembly elections, the BJP had won 25 seats and formed a coalition government with the PDP. Now the saffron brigade is eyeing forming its own government in J&K for the first time by all means, and the grant of ST status to Paharis is seen as a master stroke of the BJP, which will help the party in the coming parliamentary and assembly elections if the latter is held soon. Paharis have been fighting for their rights for the last four decades, but no political party at the center earlier accepted their genuine demand. It is the BJP government at the center that has accepted their long-pending demand, and now it’s time for the Paharis to stand strongly with the BJP in both the parliamentary and assembly elections to prove their loyalty because many anti-Pahari people are seen running the narrative that a large chunk of Paharis will not vote for the BJP. On the other hand, in the Kashmir region, some recently created political parties are said to be the cousin sisters of the BJP, and if these parties are able to get seats from the Kashmir valley or some seats from the Jammu province as well, then it will fulfill the agenda of the BJP in forming the first ever government with a Chief Minister from the Jammu region. The fiery speech of Home Minister Amit Shah in the parliament after the passing of the J&K Reorganization (Amendment) Bill and the J&K Reservation (Amendment) Bill was a clear indication that the BJP think tank has decided to approach the people of J&K and seek their mandate after the strong performance of the party in the Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh assembly elections and helped the party form the majority governments. The entire BJP cadre is upbeat, and they now want to take this opportunity with folded hands by forming the first ever government in J&K whenever the assembly elections are held. Political observers believe that if assembly elections are held in J&K along with parliamentary elections, the BJP is now in a strong position after the passing of two important bills. The BJP, which is likely to take maximum seats from the Jammu region, is likely to win more seats from the Pahari belt of J&K, and the remaining seats will be managed by other parties, which are said to be its cousin sisters, said sources in the BJP Camp. PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are keen to perform well in J&K in both parliamentary and assembly elections. So, going by the recent trends that are in the BJP’s favor, the BJP’s plan of giving the first CM from the Jammu region after the due assembly elections seems to be working properly on the ground, and it would be interesting to see how the grand old parties of J&K will counter this move of the BJP because, as per the insiders in the BJP’s camp, party leaders are in no mood to give Kashmir-based leaders power again.