It was the one "Hindu constituency" in the militancy-hit Jammu & Kashmir that shattered BJP's pride in Lok Sabha bypolls in 2002. A Muslim candidate of National Conference had won it then in a fierce poll battle and drama that had even forced the Election Commission to intervene.
And the saffron brigade is back with vengeance here to wrest the seat back. But National Conference and the ruling PDP and Congress combine are no less determined either.
In 2002 bypolls, necessitated by the death of BJP MP Vaid Vishno Dutt, the NC candidate Chowdhary Talib Hussain had trounced Nirmal Kumar Singh of BJP by 55,489 votes in a fierce 16-cornered contest. The counting of votes was stopped amidst the allegation of massive rigging but Hussain was finally declared the winner.
In the 2002 polls, voting in BJP's heartlands in Jammu city was low. While Congress made inroads into urban BJP strongholds, NC was able to garner strong support in Hindu-majority areas such as Vijaypur, Nagrota and Samba.
In 1999, Vishno Datt Sharma retained the seat in 1999, defeating Rajinder Singh Chib of JKN by 142019 votes in a 22-cornered contest. Vishno Datt had defeated Janak Raj Gupta of JKN by 127901 votes in 1998.
In 1996, Mangat Ram Sharma of Congress had defeated Vaid Vishno Dutt of BJP by 46733 votes in 1996. The seat had gone to Janak Raj Gupta of Congress in 1989 when he defeated Rajinder Singh Chib of Janata Dal by 21695 votes.
{{/usCountry}}In 1996, Mangat Ram Sharma of Congress had defeated Vaid Vishno Dutt of BJP by 46733 votes in 1996. The seat had gone to Janak Raj Gupta of Congress in 1989 when he defeated Rajinder Singh Chib of Janata Dal by 21695 votes.
{{/usCountry}}The constituency, which has more than 15,00,000 voters, has 20 assembly segments.