Congress hopes to win back Chhamb

Chhamb, (Jammu), Sep 17: It is perhaps the toughest electoral battle for former deputy chief minister and Congress candidate from Chhamb in Jammu district Tara Chand with rebels from both his party and the BJP queering the pitch in this Congress bastion.

The Congress party had won the Chhamb Assembly constituency seven out of the past nine elections since 1962 when veteran Congress leader Chajju Ram secured the seat for the first time.

Sixty-one-year-old Tara Chand, who won the Chhamb seat twice in 2002 and 2008 but lost to the BJP in 2014, is now in a four-cornered contest with BJP candidate Rajeev Sharma, rebel Congress candidate Satish Sharma, and BJP's rebel candidate Narendra Singh.

Tara Chand, who served as Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader, Deputy Chief Minister, and Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly under the governments of Mufti Sayeed and Omar Abdullah, chose to contest from his traditional Chhamb seat after it was recently de-reserved.

Driving through this rural constituency on the banks of the Chenab River in an Audi, Tara Chand, who is heavily engaged in door-to-door outreach to woo voters, downplays the rebel factor, stating that it won't affect his chances.

He emphasised that his track record of development work will work to his advantage and has been listing his achievements in public rallies.

"I will win this seat with the support of my people. It is their confidence that made me choose this traditional constituency following its de-reservation. I have done significant development work here and transformed its face," Tara Chand told PTI.