BJP, Congress rope in star campaigners to gain edge in Jammu

Jammu, Sep 20: Locked in pitched battles across Jammu region, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are going full throttle to gain an edge over the opponent in the high-octane electioneering for the phase II and III of J&K assembly elections.

Both the parties have roped in their topmost star campaigners to bolster their campaign in seven districts, which will go to polls in the phase II and III.

On the BJP side, among its leading campaigners, Prime Minister Narendra Modi charged up the atmosphere with his twin election rallies in Katra and Srinagar on September 19 for the second phase.

Following him, Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived late this evening in Jammu to hit the campaign trail in the districts going to polls in the second and third phase.

“He is scheduled to address six rallies during his three-day tour to Jammu region. On September 21, he will address back to back five rallies in Rajouri, Thannamandi, Surankote, Mendhar and Akhnoor and on September 22, he will address a rally in Nowshera. This is a tentative schedule of rallies, which may be tweaked as per security requirements,” sources stated.

BJP president J P Nadda, who was earlier scheduled to reach on September 20, will now reach Jammu on September 22. He is likely to hold a road show at Parade in Jammu. He is also scheduled to address two rallies at Greater Kailash and Kangra Fort on the same day.

As per party sources, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come for electioneering in the third phase also. “Earlier reports had suggested that he was scheduled to visit Jammu on September 28 for an election rally. Yet the party has not received any confirmed schedule,” sources added.

Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur is scheduled to address rallies tomorrow in Pouni, Arnas, Satwari and Gulabgarh.

Besides them, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too will campaign in the second and third phase.

From Congress side, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge is arriving tomorrow. “He will address a press conference in Jammu and later an election rally at Khour,” PCC Senior Vice President and Chief Spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.

Senior Congress leader and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address an election rally in Surankote on September 23. “Same day, he will address an election rally in the Central Shalteng assembly segment from where our PCC president Tariq Hameed Karra is contesting,” Sharma said.

In another scheduled engagement, Rahul is likely to have a special interaction with the professionals from various sectors on September 25 in Jammu and later in Kashmir. “Confirmed schedule about this engagement has not reached the party yet,” Sharma said, adding that party’s another star campaigner Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also is likely to join the party campaign in the third phase. “Exact schedule is still awaited,” he said.

As stakes are quite high for both the traditional rivals (Congress and BJP) in majority of districts in Jammu region, which they consider as their stronghold, they are heavily relying on their (political) star-power to woo the electorate.

Though their star campaigners, particularly in case of BJP, extensively campaigned in three districts of Chenab valley, which went to polls in the first phase on September 18, also, yet electioneering is reaching its crescendo in the phase II and III.

Reason being, in Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi districts – going to polls in the phase II on September 25 and in Jammu, Samba, Kathua and Udhampur districts, scheduled to go to polls in the third phase on October 1, BJP and Congress are key contenders in almost all assembly segments.

Even if they are engaged in triangular or multi-cornered contests at some places, stakes are higher for these traditional rivals, hence both are leaving nothing to chance in this keenly-fought election.

For BJP, its leading star-campaigners viz., Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and party’s national president and Union Minister for Health J P Nadda are holding the fort, besides other senior leaders, including the Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states.

Congress, too, this time as a serious contender is bringing in its topmost star campaigners mainly Rahul Gandhi, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to reclaim its lost space in its “bastion.”

To achieve their respective mission, star campaigners are criss-crossing districts and assembly segments with a packed schedule.

For BJP, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned in phase I in Doda on September 14 while for phase II, he addressed election rallies in Katra (in Reasi district) and in Srinagar on September 19 to galvanise support for party candidates. Following him, Union Home Minister Amit Shah hit the campaign trail for the first phase on September 16.