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Anil Bhatt in Akhnoor
Nothing seems to be going right for the ruling National Conference in Akhnoor, a constituency near the Line of Control in the Chhamb sector of Jammu region. If the campaign against it by the Bahujan Samaj Party and the pro-Congress wave in this place are any indication, it will be tough for the National Conference to retain this seat.
Gafoor Ahmed, a doctor turned BSP candidate, is seeking to settle old scores with Govind Ram Sharma of the National Conference, who is the state's irrigation and flood control minister. Ahmed has launched a massive campaign in Akhnoor, where Sharma is pitted in a multi-cornered fight with candidates of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Ahmed sought premature retirement from the health department of the Jammu & Kashmir government to avenge his harassment by Sharma when the latter was minister of state for health services and medical education.
"Gafoor is approaching the people not for votes, but asking them not to vote for the NC," Raghu Nath, a senior citizen of Akhnoor, told reporters on Monday.
The BSP candidate has already made some inroads into the 4,000-strong Gujjar community in Akhnoor, traditional supporters of the National Conference, and is extending his influence to urban areas as well.
The Congress, which stands to benefit from Ahmed's anti-NC campaign, has fielded Madan Lal Sharma, a former minister and former Akhnoor legislator, against the irrigation minister. Govind Ram Sharma's nephew Rakesh, who has deserted the National Conference, is campaigning for the Congress.
Among the others in the fray are Kuldeep Sharma (Shakti Dal), Devinder Sharma (People's Democratic Party), and Roshan Lal (Samata Party). The BJP has fielded Ram Swaroop Sharma, who had lost the 1996 election.
"Anti-incumbency wave, failure on the development front, and inaccessibility are the factors against the NC in the constituency," said the PDP candidate, adding that the minister was on a weak wicket.
Political analysts have noted that a majority of those who had migrated from Akhnoor over the years (roughly 60 per cent of the 77,137 registered voters had left at one point of time) has returned home.
The constituency is a Congress bastion, with the party winning it five times. The National Conference has won the seat twice while the Praja Parishad won it once.
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