Srinagar, Mar 25: As the campaigning for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections gains momentum, the Jammu division is gearing up for a high-stakes battle in the two parliamentary constituencies of Jammu and Udhampur, where a direct contest is expected between the heavyweights of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party.
In the Jammu parliamentary constituency, the contest is likely to be a replica of the 2014 and 2019 elections, with the BJP and Congress fielding their tried-and-tested nominees, despite the presence of other parties in the fray.
In the 2019 elections, Jugal Kishore Sharma emerged victorious, defeating Raman Bhalla by a substantial margin of 3,02,875 votes, despite the absence of candidates from the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to avoid a division of votes.
In the Udhampur constituency, the battle is expected to be equally intense, with Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. Jitendra Singh, aiming for a hat-trick of victories. Dr Jitendra Singh, who won the seat in 2014 and 2019, will face a formidable challenge from Chowdhary Lal Singh, who recently joined the Congress party.
Lal Singh, a former BJP leader, will be trying to break the trend and unseat the incumbent MP, making the contest in Udhampur a closely watched affair.
As the poll notification for the Jammu Lok Sabha seat is set to be issued on March 28, 2024, with the last date for filing nominations and scrutiny of nominations being April 4 and 6, respectively, both parties are leaving no stone unturned in their preparations.
The high-stakes contests in Jammu and Udhampur reflect the intense political rivalry between the BJP and the Congress party, with both parties aiming to secure a decisive mandate from the voters of the Jammu division.
