Cong makes inroads into Jammu region

JAMMU: The anti-incumbency factor seemed to have caught up with the National Conference (NC), with the Congress making inroads into the Jammu region.
The Congress has gained nine seats in the region, mainly at the expense of NDA partners — the NC and the BJP. The Congress, which had managed just six seats out of the 37 in the region in the 1996 assembly elections, has emerged victorious in 15 constituencies this time.
The party had failed to open its account in Doda, Poonch and Udhampur districts last time.This time, however, its candidates won two seats in Doda (Inderwal and Bhaderwah) and one seat in Udhampur (Reasi).
However, the NC retained all the three seats in Poonch — Poonch-Haveli, Surankote and Mendhar. In 1996, the Congress had managed to win just one seat in the Kathua district — it had won the Billawar seat. Even though its sitting legislator, Balbir Singh, lost to Independent candidate Manohar Lal Sharma this time, the party’s overall tally in the district went up to three — the party emerged victorious in Basohli, Bani and Hiranagar.
The Congress wrested the Bani seat from the NC and the Hiranagar seat from the BJP. The party’s candidate Lal Singh won the Basohli seat, which he had won on the All-India Congress Tiwari (AICT) ticket last time.
The Congress won eight out of the 13 seats in the Jammu district. This included the Chhamb seat — the only seat it had won in the last elections.