OBCs, refugees to field joint candidates against BJP

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 24

Annoyed over the repeated ‘betrayals’ by the BJP, the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and West Pakistani refugees on Sunday announced fielding joint candidates on both Lok Sabha seats of the Jammu province.

As the majority of West Pakistani refugees are OBCs and Dalits, it was unanimously decided to field Labha Ram Gandhi, chairman of West Pakistani Refugees’ Action Committee, as the candidate on the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat. The decision on the Udhampur-Doda seat will be taken within a couple of days.

“I am going to file my nomination papers from the Jammu-Poonch seat on Monday,” Gandhi told The Tribune, adding, “All castes belonging to OBCs have promised full support to me.” He said on March 31, a rally of all 30 OBC castes will be held to mobilise support.

The announcement of OBCs and refugees to field joint candidates is significant as both communities are a deciding factor in the Jammu province. They had voted for the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

On Sunday, a meeting of the Vishwakarma community was held under the leadership of Justice (retd) RC Gandhi to discuss issues related to OBCs.

The members charged the BJP with betraying OBCs by ignoring all genuine demands of the community. Jammu Municipal Corporation corporator Raj Kumar pointed out that for the first time in the history, there was no OBC member in the State Backward Classes Commission because the BJP was against marginalised and neglected sections of society. “We have to teach the BJP a lesson in the coming Lok Sabha elections,” he said, adding, “The BJP leadership has created hurdles in enhancing reservation of OBCs in J&K”.

According to a rough estimate, West Pakistani refugees have nearly 60,000 votes on the Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat and about 30,000 votes on the Udhampur-Doda seat.

Saffron party’s earlier promises  

• While addressing a rally in Jammu on December 1, 2013, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, had promised to resolve the issues of refugees, OBCs, SCs and STs.
• On March 26, 2014, while launching the campaign for the Lok Sabha elections from the border town of Hiranagar, he had touched the issue of fundamental rights being denied to West Pakistani refugees.
• On Dec 8, 2014, while addressing a rally in the Raya Morh area of Samba, he promised to resolve issues of all refugees living in J&K since 1947