Campaign trail: Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat

Congress candidate Ch Lal Singh moving hills to unseat MoS PMO Dr Jitendra Singh from the hot seat

April 8, 2024

Jitendra Singh faces tough fight in Udhampur-Doda

Two-time Member of Parliament and MoS PMO Dr Jitendra Singh, aiming for a hat-trick from the Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat, is facing tough competition on ground zero from Choudhary Lal Singh of the Congress party.

As the electioneering is peaking both the rival candidates have sharpened their attack on each other to woo the electorate on their side.

Despite facing the wrath of the common electorate in different pockets of the Parliamentary constituency, which is spread across 16 Assembly segments between five districts of Kathua, Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban, BJP candidate Dr Jitendra Singh is banking heavily on the Modi factor to sail through.

On the other hand, Choudhary Lal Singh is bent upon moving hills in the Chenab Valley region to unseat Dr Jitendra Singh with the help of the National Conference.

For the BJP winning the seat is paramount and also a prestige issue.

Dr Jitendra Singh is also campaigning on the same lines. Instead of presenting his report card, he focuses on showcasing the work of the Prime Minister and his growth-oriented agenda for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Acknowledging the public sentiment and anti-incumbency faced by the party candidate, the election management committee of the party is all set to launch star campaigners including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to bolster the poll campaign of Dr Jitendra Singh.

In the coming days, Prime Minister, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Yogi Adityanath are scheduled to address public meetings in support of Dr Jitendra Singh.

Supporters of Lal Singh claimed the BJP is bringing all its star campaigners in support of Dr Jitendra Singh clearly shows they are nervous and struggling to win the confidence of voters, who are angry with the sitting MP for ignoring their concerns. Choudhary Lal Singh is also targeting Dr Jitendra Singh for remaining absent from his constituency and not addressing the genuine concerns of the electorate.

From the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are also scheduled to hold campaign meetings in support of the party candidates on both the Lok Sabha seats of the Jammu region.

The alliance partner National Conference leadership is also utilizing all resources at its command to help the Congress party candidates.

National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah is also scheduled to address joint public meetings in the last leg of the campaign ahead of the first round of polling on April 19, 2024.

A total number of 12 candidates are in the fray but the real fight is between the Congress and the BJP candidates. The entry of GM Saroori, three-time MLA and former minister, from the Democratic Progressive Azad Party led by Ghulam Nabi Azad has made it a triangular contest.

Roughly 16.23 lakh electorate, with a sizeable 30-35% of the Muslim population is scheduled to participate in the polling on April 19.

Fact sheet

Dr Jitendra Singh won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by defeating Congress stalwart Ghulam Nabi Azad by a margin of over 60,000 votes.

In 2019 his victory margin surpassed 3.50 lakhs as he went on to defeat the Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh, supported by the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party by a margin of 3.57 lakh votes.

According to the official sources Dr. Jitendra Singh garnered 724,311 votes (61% votes), while Vikramaditya Singh of the Congress party secured 367,059 votes (31% votes).

Lal Singh, who won the Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat in 2004 and 2009 is contesting as congress candidate after a gap of more than 13 long years. In 2014, Lal Singh was denied the party ticket and in 2019 he contested the seat as nominee of the Dogra Swabhiman Sangarsh party. Singh rejoined the Congress party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. He was shunted out of the Mehbooba Mufti cabinet during the Rasana rape and murder case investigation as he had demanded a CBI probe to unmask the perpetrators behind the heinous crime against the nomadic girl.

Out of the 16 Assembly segments eight are located in the Chenab Valley region the Congress, National Conference, and PDP enjoy a support base of members belonging to the majority community in Jammu and Kashmir while BJP is banking on the support base of voters in Udhampur and Kathua districts.

Since the National Conference and PDP have not fielded their party candidates they are both supporting the Congress candidate Lal Singh.

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2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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