J&K Election 2024 : There is one seat in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections which used to be SC reserved earlier but now it has become a general seat. This seat is R S Pura. R S Pura-Jammu South constituency, known as the home of Basmati farmers, has been an old Congress stronghold. But this time there is a new equation, because this seat once reserved for Scheduled Castes is now open for the general category.
Spread across both rural and urban areas, this seat holds a special place in the political landscape of Jammu. In the past, it has sent many eminent personalities to the Assembly, and now with the new boundaries after delimitation, the eminences have increased even more.
fierce competition
There is a tough fight on this assembly seat between two-time Congress MLA and former minister Raman Bhalla and BJP candidate Dr. Narinder Singh Raina. Bhalla faces a tough test to regain the seat for the Congress.
Apart from this, the seat is also attracting attention due to the tough contest between 14 candidates including former minister and Progressive Alliance Democratic Party (PDAP) candidate Chaudhary Gharu Ram and People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’s Narendra Sharma.
caste equations
In this constituency, reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) from 1996 to 2014, the contest will be decided on the basis of caste and regional identity.
One of the most important seats of Jammu, R S Pura-Jammu South has an illustrious history, including political stalwarts like veteran Congress leader Dr Karan Singh and PDP founder and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, who won the seat in 1967. Had won.
Bhalla and Raina
In this election season, the candidates on this seat are trying to win over the complex voters divided on regional and caste lines. Although there is a four-cornered contest between Congress, BJP, DPAP and PDP, the real fight is between Bhalla and Raina.
Former two-time minister Raman Bhalla, who won the Gandhi Nagar assembly seat in 2002 and 2008, is hoping to win based on his strong performance during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He had secured more votes than the BJP candidate in this assembly constituency. There is also a fight for political survival for Bhalla in this election. His political fortunes hinge on this election after two defeats in the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well as the 2014 Assembly elections.
On the other hand, BJP National Secretary Narinder Singh Raina is counting on the BJP’s permanent support base. Raina, who is campaigning on the party’s development agenda and the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, belongs to the Sikh community, which has a sizeable population in the constituency.
