As Rahul Gandhi fails to reach Jammu, setback for Congress’s last-mile poll push

Sharma said AICC wide caput Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was expected to sojourn Jammu connected Saturday to code 2 rallies successful Billawar and Bishnah respectively. These rallies volition beryllium her archetypal successful the J&K run run.

While it initially appeared that the Congress had managed to organise its Jammu cadre and operation its campaign, a operation of infighting — which astatine times pushed the merchandise of names to the eve of the information deadline — a lacklustre campaign, and the BJP’s assertive fightback has pushed the enactment into a corner.

Congress state and National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah connected Thursday expressed interest astir the Jammu campaign. Noting that the run had not yet gained momentum 5 days earlier the 3rd phase, Abdullah said the NC had “entrusted the Congress with a important fig of seats successful Jammu”. But “unfortunately the Congress has not done arsenic overmuch successful the plains of Jammu arsenic we expected them to do”, helium added.

After the 2nd signifier of polling connected September 25, the Congress attempted to get its J&K location successful order, with Rahul and Priyanka’s rallies being announced earlier the past agelong of the polls. Of the 40 Assembly seats going to polls successful J&K successful the last signifier of elections connected October 1, 24 are successful Jammu’s Udhampur, Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts. The Congress is contesting 21 of these constituencies.

There is simply a cognition that the 4 districts successful Jammu volition clasp the cardinal to authorities enactment successful the Union Territory. In the 2014 Assembly polls, the BJP won each 25 seats successful Jammu and went connected to signifier the authorities with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).