The BJP has lost a seat on the home turf of Ravinder Raina, Hindutva hardliner and the party’s face in Jammu and Kashmir, prompting rivals to claim the constituency’s predominantly Hindu voters had rejected his brand of “communal politics”.
While the BJP is celebrating its 3 victories from the Kashmir valley’s 140 seats in the District Development Council elections, it has lost ground in Jammu, losing in nearly half the seats.
The party won just 72 of Jammu province’s 140 seats, after bagging 25 of its 37 seats more than two-thirds in the 2014 Assembly polls. The BJP had won both of Jammu’s Lok Sabha seats in the last two general elections.