Even as political analysts have kept their fingers crossed after observing voting patterns on the Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat, both BJP and Congress staked claims of comfortable victory on this Parliamentary segment where polling was held on Friday.
Union Minister and BJP leader Dr. Jitendra Singh is trying for a hat-trick on this parliamentary seat, where Congress has fielded veteran politician Choudhary Lal Singh against him.
"People have voted massively in favour of BJP and the party is leading in all assembly segments of the Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat. BJP activists have dedicatedly worked for this enthusiastic response and have left no stone unturned and the party is equally thankful to the people and the ground workers", J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina claimed.
He said that the people in all districts voted in massive numbers despite bad weather on the poll day. He said that such massive poling in the harsh weather proves the commitment of the voters, who polled more than 70% votes.
Heavy polling is an indication of change: Congress
Congratulating the electorates of the Udhampur-Doda Parliamentary constituency for enthusiastic participation in the elections, J&K Congress chief Vikar Rasool Wani said that despite rain and bad weather, most of the areas witnessed heavy polling is an indication of change. He said people are fed up with the BJP and wanted a change, which is expected due to heavy polling in the first phase.
Wani said that Congress makes programmes for ameliorating many people by providing all of them basic amenities of life.
"Education, Healthcare, Provision of Modern Infrastructure, uninterrupted power supply, provision of safe and pure drinking water, job creation for the unemployed, empowerment of the women and welfare schemes for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Handicapped persons and all the socially neglected sections of the society are on top most agenda of the Congress party", he said.
Strongholds of BJP, Cong record heavy polling
Brisk voting was held in strongholds of both BJP and Congress candidates namely Dr. Jitendra Singh and Choudhary Lal Singh.
In the Hiranagar assembly segment of Kathua district, which is a citadel of BJP 63,637 voters cast their votes.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, out of a total of 1,21,937 voters, 88,507 cast their votes. Out of these 88,507 votes, Dr. Jitendra Singh got 70763 votes.
Similarly, in the Banihal Assembly segment of the Ramban district, 45215 voters had cast their votes in the 2019 elections, out of which the then Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh got 34011 votes.
This time, 72,336 voters cast their votes on Friday and the Congress candidate is likely to get the maximum number of votes.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Dr. Jitendra Singh got the majority of votes from Udhampur and Kathua district. From the three assembly segments of Udhampur district the lead of Dr Singh was 1.57 lakh.
In Kathua district, there was virtually a one-sided affair in the 2019 elections, where the lead of Dr. Jitendra Singh was nearly 2.5 lakh votes over the then Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh.
In the Bani assembly segment, Dr Singh got 23098 votes, while Vikramaditya secured 7060 votes. In the Basholi assembly segment, which is home town of present Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh, Dr Singh had secured 43125 votes as compared to his Congress rival Vikramditya Sigh who got 6389 votes.
From Kathua, Billawar and Hiranagar assembly segments, Dr Singh got 76,547, 62,488, and 70,683 votes, while his rival got 12,909, 12,918, and 10063 votes.
This time, Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh, who is a native of Kathua district, has focused on this part of the constituency, which is a stronghold of BJP.
This time, six assembly segments of Kathua recorded nearly 70 percent voting. As per initial data shared by the authorities, out of a total of 5,02,944 votes in six assembly segments of Kathua district, 3,52,553 voters cast their votes. A maximum number of 82162 voters of the Kathua (reserved) constituency exercised their right to the franchise, while a minimum of 35,822 voters of the Bani assembly segment cast their votes.
Despite bad weather, 68.27 % of polling recorded
Undeterred by the weather vagaries across the expansive canvas of the five districts of Doda, Kathua, Kishtwar, Ramban, and Udhampur underwent polling as the voters embraced their civic duty with fervor and exhibited unwavering determination.
Undaunted by the challenges, the polling parties ensured that the first polls in Jammu and Kashmir were held with grace and resolve.
There were 2,637 polling stations set up for 16.23 lakh electors of five districts. More than 11,000 polling staff have performed the poll duty.
