Srinagar, Oct 31 (KNO): As the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly prepares to convene on November 4, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has scheduled a legislative party meeting in Jammu on November 3 to elect its leader. The leader will serve as the opposition head in the assembly, a role of notable significance given the BJP’s position as the main opposition party in the Union Territory.
According to BJP state working president Sat Sharma, preparations for the meeting have been finalized, with Union Minister Prahlad Patel and BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh attending to oversee the proceedings. "The leader elected will champion the issues pertinent to the Jammu division with renewed vigor in the assembly," said Sharma as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
The assembly results accorded the BJP a critical role in opposition. Out of the 90 assembly seats, the BJP secured 29, solidifying its status as the primary opposition. The National Conference, having won 42 seats, holds the majority, supported by five independent MLAs. The Congress, as the NC’s coalition partner, managed six seats, while the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won three. Other parties, including the CPI, People’s Conference, and Aam Aadmi Party, each secured one seat.
Prominently, Despite BJP's high hopes of gaining a foothold in the Kashmir Valley after the abrogation of Article 370, results indicated that the party may once again be confined to its stronghold in Jammu. The BJP had targeted a "35-plus" seat tally in Jammu, buoyed by initiatives like granting 10% reservation to the hill community. However, these measures did not translate into significant gains in the Valley, and the BJP's strategy to expand its influence beyond Jammu appears ruthlessly faltered. However, at the same time, elections, held after a decade, exposed the weakening grip of the Congress, especially in its former stronghold—Jammu region. While the party traditionally fared well in Jammu and gave tough competition to regional parties in Kashmir, it has now lost ground to both regional rivals and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which steadily deepened its influence in Jammu over the last two decades—(KNO)