Sharply divided along religious lines in the aftermath of the Amarnath land agitation six months ago, the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha constituency is now witnessing arch political rivals campaigning for each other to woo the electorate for the ensuing polls.

Though a total of 21 candidates are in the fray, the real contest will be between the Congress-NC combine and the BJP, both of which have fielded Brahmins.

Comprising 20 Assembly constituencies spread over four border districts of Samba, Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch, the constituency, with a total electorate of 17.22 lakh, is going to the polls during the first phase of elections on Thursday. Congress-NC consensus nominee Madan Lal Sharma was a member of the last Lok Sabha while the BJP has fielded Leela Karan Sharma — the face of Hindu resistance when during the Amarnath issue. With Leela Karan, the BJP is apparently trying to take advantage of the feeling of discrimination running high among Hindus after the agitation. The ruling Congress and NC have fielded Madan Lal Sharma in a bid to regain the ground lost in the last Assembly polls.

The BJP, in the last Assembly polls, had emerged as the single largest party by winning seven of the 20 Assembly segments. The Congress came second with five seats followed by NC winning four, PDP two and Jammu Kashmir National Panthers Party and Independent cornering one each.

Political observers point out that instead of going for friendly contests as witnessed between the Congress-PDP coalition in the previous regime, both the coalition parties have realised the importance of going together in the ensuing elections.

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