After granting ST status to Paharis, BJP has a thin edge over the opposition in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat; Candidate selection will play a major role

After granting ST status to Paharis, BJP has a thin edge over the opposition in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat; Candidate selection will play a major role

POONCH TODAY NEWS

POONCH: After fulfilling the decades-old demand for ST status for the Pahari ethnic tribe, the BJP has made a big move and seems to have a thin edge over opposition candidates in the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, but the candidate selection will play a big role for the BJP because if the BJP fields a weak candidate, then the opposition parties may prove heavy over the BJP because all opposition parties have strong names in their lists.

Political observers believe that if the BJP gives a mandate to Ravinder Raina or any other strong candidate, then the party is likely to perform well; otherwise,  it would be a very challenging task for the BJP to win the seat with a weak candidate. Moreover, after the grant of ST status to Paharis, there are different opinions emerging as far as the percentage of Paharis’ votes in favor of the BJP is concerned. Political observers believe that getting all pahari votes would be a difficult task for the BJP because of its hard-line image among the large chunk of pahari voters. ST status may give a thin edge to the BJP, but to win the seat, the BJP has to bring all sections of society together. Similar is the case with opposition parties, especially the National Conference, which mostly has a huge Gujjar vote bank and has to take Pahari’s votes as well. It is important to mention here that before the grant of ST status to paharis, the BJP was not in the competition, but this move by the BJP to grant ST status to paharis has increased the chances of the BJP to fight for this seat. The BJP has not finalized the candidate for this Anantnag-Rajouri seat, but as per party insiders, the chances of the BJP giving a mandate to Ravinder Raina are high to counter other powerful candidates from the NC, PDP, and Congress. Although the BJP is safe in the two seats of Jammu and Udhampur, the top brass of the BJP is keen to win the Anantnag-Rajouri seat by any means, and for this reason, many leaders from different political parties have joined the BJP. There are reports that a number of Pahari leaders are likely to join the BJP during PM Modi’s upcoming rally in Jammu. The way things are going on behind the curtains, it seems that the BJP is in no mood to lose this seat and wants to win it by all means, and the regular joining of various leaders is a strong indication of this fact. Moreover, it is also a test of credibility for pahari voters to vote for the BJP because it is the BJP that has fulfilled the decades-old demand of the pahari ethnic tribe. It is interesting to see whether the BJP would be able to win this seat merely with the support of pahari voters or not.