Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir): As Jammu and Kashmir braces for first Assembly elections after abrogation of Article 370, the Gandhi Nagar assembly seat-bifurcated into Bahu and RS Pura Jammu South after delimitation, is a seat to watch out for given the tight contest between the BJP and Congress candidates in the 2014 election results.
The Gandhi Nagar assembly seat in Jammu is expected to be a major battleground, having been divided into two constituencies—Bahu and RS Pura Jammu South—after the delimitation.
In 2014, BJP senior leader Kavinder Gupta won the Gandhi Nagar seat Now RS Pura Jammu South. This time, a fierce contest is anticipated between BJP and Congress. In 2014, Gupta won the Gandhi Nagar assembly seat by defeating Congress's senior leader Raman Bhalla with a margin of 16,777 votes. The voter turnout was only 36.02%, with Gupta receiving 56,679 votes and Bhalla getting 39,902 votes.
After the bifurcation of the Gandhi Nagar seat into Bahu and RS Pura Jammu South, approximately 121,478 voters are expected to exercise franchise in the Bahu assembly constituency. This includes 62,271 male voters and 59,207 female voters, indicating a nearly equal distribution of genders.
Historically, the BJP and Congress have had an equal share of victories in this seat. In 1996, BJP's Chaudhary Piyara Singh won the seat, while Congress's Raman Bhalla secured wins in 2002 and 2008 while BJP's Kavinder Gupta was the sitting MLA from the seat in the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state. The seat has consistently seen a tough competition between BJP and Congress candidates. In 2002, National Conference's candidate Harbans Singh secured the second position, surpassing BJP's Charanjit Singh.
Recent Lok Sabha elections indicate that voter turnout in the Bahu assembly seat is expected to rise compared to previous years. Voter turnout in Gandhi Nagar in the 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014 assembly elections was around 32-33%.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 62.34% of voters in the Bahu assembly constituency cast vote as per the ECI data with 121,478 of the 75,740 registered voters exercising their franchise. It is anticipated that, for the first time in ten years, a significant number of voters will turn out for this assembly seat.
