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National Conference fights to extend its dominance over J&K

Though the ruling National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir has been contesting parliamentary elections in the state since 1967, it has never been able to raise its tally above three seats in any election.

The Congress, which won five of the state's six Lok Sabha seats in the first election, has steadily been losing ground. A recent setback was the formation of the Peoples Democratic Party by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, a Congress stalwart and former Union home minister.

In the 1967 parliamentary polls held in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference won only from Srinagar. The other five seats -- Jammu, Udhampur, Baramulla, Anantnag and Ladakh -- were won by the Congress.

Before 1967, only candidates nominated by the state legislative assembly were sent to the Lok Sabha.

In 1971, the Congress lost two of the five seats it won in 1967, Baramulla and Ladakh, to the NC. An independent, Shamim Ahmed Shamim won from Srinagar.

In the 1977 elections, the seat tally remained the same, though the constituencies changed hands. NC candidate and mother of chief minister Farooq Abdullah, Akbar Jahan Begum wrested Srinagar from Shamim. The Congress lost Jammu to an independent, Baldev Singh, but recaptured Ladakh. The NC had Srinagar and Baramulla, while the Congress was left with Ladakh, Anantnag and Udhampur.

In the 1971 and 1977 elections, the persona of the candidates had a greater part to play in their victory than the party bases.

In the 1980 polls, the NC further improved its presence in the Lok Sabha winning the three seats of Baramulla, Srinagar and Anantnag, wresting the latter from the Congress. The Congress also lost Ladakh to an independent candidate.

It was in 1980 that present chief minister Farooq Abdullah jumped into the fray and won unopposed from Srinagar. He later shifted to state politics.

Udhampur was represented thrice consecutively by Dr Karan Singh -- in 1971, 1977 and 1980.

In 1984, the Congress improved its tally by one seat, when its candidate P Namgyal won from Ladakh. The NC won from three constituencies.

Like Udhampur, Baramulla has also returned Prof Saifuddin Soz for three consecutive times -- in 1984, 1989 and 1998. Prof Soz, an ex-NC leader is contesting these elections as an independent from his stronghold Baramulla, with the support of the Congress.

In 1989, the NC wrested three seats and the Congress had to satisfy itself with two -- Jammu and Udhampur. Ladakh went to an independent.

Due to insurgency, the 1991 elections were not held in the state. The NC boycotted the 1996 elections, raising the issue of autonomy. This boycott helped the BJP make its electoral debut in the state. Prof Chaman Lal Gupta won from Udhampur, defeating congress candidate Janak Raj Gupta.

Srinagar, Jammu, Baramulla and Ladakh were won by the Congress and Anantnag was wrested by a Janata Dal candidate Mohammad Maqbool Dar, who went on to become Union minister of state for home.

The Congress's domination in Jammu and Udhampur was quashed when the constituencies were wrested by the BJP in 1998. Jammu slipped into the BJP'S pocket, when its candidate Vishno Dutt Vaid defeated Janak Raj Gupta of the National Conference. Gupta had defected to the NC from the Congress just before the polls.

UNI

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