By IANS,
Jammu : Cross voting by seven of the 11 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)legislators in Wednesday’s legislative council polls in Jammu and Kashmir has left many of its supporters feeling betrayed.
“Did the BJP do this?” asked party supporter Satish Gupta, a businessman. “Sab chor hain (all of them are thieves).”
BJP is often seen as a voice of the people of Jammu and one that will protect the interests of minority communities in the Muslim-dominated state. Now the people of Jammu, especially those from the plains, say they are left with no political group to represent them.
“We have been politically orphaned,” said Dilip Kumar, another BJP supporter who had spent his own money to canvas for the party during the assembly elections in 2008.
Many are shocked that BJP legislators voted for the state’s ruling National Conference-Congress alliance candidates.
The National Conference won three council seats, the Congress two and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party one. BJP candidate Ranjit Singh polled only four votes in Wednesday’s elections.
Stung by the result, the party the next day asked all its 11 legislators to submit their resignations from the assembly. However, even after the resignations have been sent to the party leadership, the anger has not subsided.
The people here view the National Conference, Congress and PDP – all Kashmir centric parties – as working against the interests of Jammu.
The 11 BJP legislators were elected in the aftermath of the Amarnath land row agitation in 2008, in which more than 15 people were killed, after the government’s order of rescinding the diversion of land to the board managing the famous Hindu pilgrim site.
While all the Kashmir centric parties and separatists had arrayed against the diversion of land, Jammu groups, led by the BJP, had launched a counter agitation.
“Today, I feel the BJP is worse than Kashmir centric parties. I know that they discriminate against me. As a Jammuite, they work against me and my children in denying chances in the state government services….but I didn’t know that the so-called guardians of my interest and that of Jammu and nationalism, are doing the same thing,” college-goer Narinder Singh said.
Jammu newspapers are full of reports of money being exchanged between the BJP and ruling coalition parties.
The reports may or may not be true, but for the man on the street, the feeling of being betrayed is palpable.