BJP goes full throttle to woo voters in Pir Panjal region

The BJP is trying to make inroads into the Congress-NC alliance and PDP bastion of the Pir Panjal region with its star campaigners set to address several mega rallies in the second phase of the polls on September 25.

The region, comprising the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch along the Line of Control and sharing borders with south Kashmir, had largely favoured the PDP, Congress and NC in the 2014 state elections.

Several top BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will address mega rallies to boost the party’s prospects in the region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to join canvassing on the last day of the campaigning in the twin border districts.

Jammu and Kashmir BJP media centre in-charge Arun Gupta said the party plans to hold six mega rallies in the next two days, led by Shah and Singh, along with other top leaders.

“We are going all out to win voters in Rajouri and Poonch. Our star campaigners, Amit Shah Ji and Rajnath Singh Ji, will be holding eight rallies on Saturday and Sunday,” Gupta said.

Shah will fly to Rajouri early on Saturday and address rallies in Mendhar, Surankote (Poonch district), Rajouri and Thanamandi (Rajouri district), along with one in Akhnoor (Jammu district). He is also expected to hold a rally in Nowshera constituency to support the party’s state president Ravinder Raina on Sunday.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will address three rallies on Sunday in Poonch, Surankote and Jammu.

Union Health Minister and BJP president JP Nadda will be attending a programme of intellectuals in Jammu on Sunday and is likely to address a rally in Rajouri.