Regional issues dominate
S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, April 28
Regional issues are dominating the election campaign in the Kashmir valley. These include the reopening of the Muzaffarabad road and peace talks between India and Pakistan. Certain local issues are also to the fore. But in the Jammu region, the Vajpayee factor and development under the PDP-Congress coalition regime are being highlighted.
A lot of mudslinging has been done between Ms Mehbooba Mufti, PDP chief and party candidate for the Anantnag seat, and Mr Omar Abdullah, president of the National Conference (NC) who is contesting from Srinagar. The Congress and the BJP in Jammu are also washing the dirty linen in public.
Interestingly, hardly any national issue has been focussed in the state and the Lok Sabha poll has been reduced to the level of a panchayat election with the candidates listing their own achievements.
This is more so because the PDP and NC, the two main parties in the valley, are of regional outlook and have nothing to do with the bosses at Delhi.
Mufti Sayeed, who has become Chief Minister with the support of the Congress, was also silent about Ms Sonia Gandhi while campaigning for his daughter Mehbooba Mufti and other candidates of the PDP.
In his campaign, he was trying to project himself as the one who had prepared the ground for a dialogue between the separatists and the Centre, reopening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road and the peace talks between India and Pakistan.
On the other hand, Ms Mehbooba Mufti is hitting the NC and making personal attacks on the Abdullahs.
The NC has also not spared the Mufti government, accusing it of not implementing election promises, non-performance, increased human right violations and failure to disband the special operation group (SOG) of the police.
The Congress candidates in the two seats of the Jammu division — Mr Madan Lal Sharma, Public Works Minister, and Mr Lal Singh, Health Minister — highlighted their own performance in the roads and buildings and health sectors.
The BJP candidate and Minister of State for Defence, Mr Chaman Lal Gupta, has brought out a 93-page booklet to highlight his performance since 1996 when he first became an MP from Udhampur.
Mr Bhim Singh, Chairman of the Panthers Party, in his election campaign is not leaving any stone unturned to damn the Mufti government that his party was supporting in the Assembly.
No comments:
Post a Comment