Jammu, Apr 21: After holding of elections in Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, the battle for the Jammu Lok Sabha seat has intensified, with the primary contenders being BJP’s incumbent MP Jugal Kishore Sharma and Congress leader Raman Bhalla.
The constituency, set for polls on April 26, will witness a showdown between these two parties.
Previously held by Congress’s Madan Lal Sharma in 2004 and 2009, and then by BJP’s Jugal Kishore in 2014 and 2019, the seat appears to be up for grabs in this closely contested race.
On Sunday, both BJP and Congress organized rallies to woo voters in their favor.
BJP’s J&K President Ravindar Raina and Jugal Kishore addressed various rallies and led road shows. “BJP accepts every citizen on its own. We don’t discriminate on the basis of region or religion. It was BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee who nominated the name of late APJ Abdul Kalam Azad as president of India. There is peace in Jammu and Kashmir. We have to be united and vote for the party which took various pro-people measures and launched various people-friendly schemes,” Raina said.
While Raman Bhalla said BJP has been misleading the people. “I will fulfill all promises with the people of J&K. We will restore statehood. We will create job opportunities for unemployed youth,” he added.
President JKPCC Vikar Rasool Wani has hailed the high voter turnout in the recent elections in Udhampur constituency as a sign of change.
The Jammu Lok Sabha seat mainly comprises the plains and the Hindu-majority belt in Samba, Reasi and Jammu districts of Jammu region.
Jugal Kishore Sharma is seeking a third term. During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he won the seat by a margin of 2.57 lakh voters and in 2019 elections he won by a margin of 3.02 lakh votes.
