Jammu, one of the five Lok Sabha seats in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, is scheduled to vote in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 26.
This time, BJP's Jugal Kishore Sharma, the incumbent MP from Jammu, is vying for a third term. He secured victory for the first time in 2014 Lok Sabha elections with a margin of close to 2,57,000 votes, defeating Congress's Madan Lal. Sharma retained the seat in 2019 with a margin of close to 3,00,000 votes.
On the other hand, the Congress party has fielded Raman Bhalla, a two-time MLA and the working president of J&K Congress.
Interestingly, Bhalla is contesting for the second time from the Jammu seat. In 2019, he faced defeat against Jugal Sharma.
Previous results
Political observers believe that, unlike in previous elections, it will be challenging for the BJP to retain the seat this time as INDIA Bloc parties have extended their support to the Congress candidate.
Jammu district, where Hindus constitute 86% of the total population, is also known as the 'temple city'.
In the past three years, Jammu has witnessed several protests. However, it is believed that the dominance of the BJP remains intact here. With the inauguration of the Katra rail link from Jammu, the BJP hopes that people will once again vote for the party.
Meanwhile, when Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through here, a considerable crowd gathered.
There are approximately 17 lakh registered voters in the Jammu constituency, and this time, 22 candidates are trying their luck from here. However, the main contest is primarily between two parties.
