Doubts over early assembly poll as BJP rebuffed in J&K Block elections

Although Bharatiya Janata Party was the only major party in the fray, it managed to win only 81 out of the 307 seats in the Block Development Councils, with Independents bagging 217 seats with tacit support of the opposition parties, which stayed away in protest against the Centre’s unilateral move in revoking Article 370, which gave special status to J & K.

The result has given a severe jolt to BJP’s pre-poll propaganda that people in J & K had welcomed the decision and turning the state into two Union Territories.

The BDC poll was the last one before the Union Territories come into being on October 31. Block Development Councils are the second tier organisations of the Panchayati Raj system.

A total of 26,629 Sarpanchs and Panchs — 8,313 women and 18,316 men — comprised the Electoral College for the elections. All major non-BJP political parties including Congress, National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party besides smaller groups like CPI (M) and J&K Peoples Conference had boycotted the elections.

While overall voter turnout in the first-ever BDC polls in the state was pegged at 98.3 per cent, officials said that Srinagar district recorded the highest turnout of 100 per cent whereas Shopian district in South Kashmir registered the lowest 85.3 per cent.

The drubbing of the BJP was all the more conspicuous in its stronghold Jammu region, where the BJP could get only 53 seats of the total 148.

This dismal performance is attributed to infighting and strong resentment against state BJP leaders. The party lost even in the home turf blocks of state BJP chief Ravinder Raina and Lok Sabha MP Jughal Kishore. In the border district of Poonch, the party couldn’t even open its account as independent candidates won all the 11 blocks.

In Jammu district, which is considered a strong citadel of the BJP, the party got just nine out of the 20 seats.

In Udhampur district, which is represented by Union Minister Jitendra Singh in Lok Sabha, Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party won eight out of total 17 blocks. The BJP could manage to win only four seats.

In Kathua district, the BJP secured only nine of the 19 councils.

In Doda district where the BJP had won both Assembly seats in the 2014 elections, the party won only five seats of the total 17 seats.

In the adjoining Kishtwar district, where the BJP gave its best performance, the party won seven out of 13 BDCs. Similarly, in Ramban, the BJP could win only two out of 11 councils.

Even after giving “Double Diwali” gift to Ladakh region, the ruling party cut a sorry figure as it managed to win only four out of 15 BDCs in Kargil district and just seven out of 16 councils in Leh. The independents won 11 councils.

In Kashmir Valley, the voters – Sarpanches and Panches – cocked a snook at the BJP which could win only 18 seats. Here, Sarpanches and Panches were transported in security vehicles to the polling stations.

Kashmir Valley has 136 panchayat blocks, out of which independents won 109 of 128 seats where the elections were notified. During last year’s first-tier Panchayat polls, elections were not held for the remaining eight seats.

The BJP could not win even a single council in Kupwara, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Srinagar and Kulgam districts, where the elections were swept by the independent candidates.

Home Minister Amit Shah had also convened a special meeting with Sarpanches and Panches while BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav had organised Jashn-e-Kashmir for them.

In South Kashmir’s Shopian district the party won eight of the nine seats and four in Pulwama district. It won one seat in Baramulla district, two in Budgam district and three in Anantnag district.

Several elected Panchayat Raj Representatives (PRI) had criticised the government for holding elections a week before the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act comes into effect.

In view of the electoral setback in the BDC polls, observers have doubts over the BJP leadership holding assembly elections by this year-end as many of its leaders had publicly promised.