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BJP makes big gains, but appeal remains limited

SRINAGAR — India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged yesterday as an important political player in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, with vote counting in local elections showing that it made heavy gains in the regional legislature.

Mr Modi speaking at a campaign rally south of Jammu on Dec 13. The BJP’s gains were in Hindu-dominated areas of the Jammu region. Photo: Reuters

Mr Modi speaking at a campaign rally south of Jammu on Dec 13. The BJP’s gains were in Hindu-dominated areas of the Jammu region. Photo: Reuters

SRINAGAR — India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged yesterday as an important political player in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, with vote counting in local elections showing that it made heavy gains in the regional legislature.

The party had led an ambitious campaign aiming for a majority in India’s only Muslim-majority state, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting and addressing rallies four times.

The BJP won 25 seats in the region’s 87-strong state legislature, a significant jump from the 11 seats it currently holds. All its seats continued to be in Hindu-dominated areas of the Jammu region in Jammu-Kashmir state, with the party failing to make inroads in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley.

Experts said the results highlighted the polarisation of voters in the troubled region.

“The results show that the BJP’s appeal has not gone beyond Hindu-dominated areas,’’ said Dr Noor Ahmad Baba, a political science professor at Kashmir University.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but is claimed by both in its entirety. The rivals have fought two wars over Kashmir since they won independence from Britain in 1947.

The state’s incumbent Chief Minister, Mr Omar Abdullah, has said the voting should not be linked to the dispute over the region.

“This is not an election about India and Pakistan. It is not an election about the issue of Kashmir,” Mr Abdullah told reporters on Monday, adding that residents had simply voted for whichever party they believed could solve their day-to-day problems.

The regional pro-India Peoples Democratic Party won 26 seats and was leading in two more, the Election Commission said.

With no party winning an outright 44 seats, it was unclear which combination of political parties would come together to form the state government.

The authorities said about 65 per cent of nearly five million eligible voters cast ballots in the elections, which were held in five phases from Nov 25 to Dec 20 — a staggered process that allowed government forces to better guard against any violence or anti-India protests.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, where rebel groups have been fighting since 1989, seeking independence from India or the merger of the region with neighbouring Pakistan.

The BJP also looked likely to emerge as the largest party in the mineral-rich eastern state of Jharkhand. By late Tuesday afternoon, the party had won 31 of the state’s 81 seats and was leading in seven others.

The final results were expected late yesterday.

In earlier state elections held in October, the BJP won a majority in Haryana state, and took the most seats and formed a government in Maharashtra, where India’s financial capital of Mumbai is located.

State elections decide who controls the Upper House of India’s Parliament. While the Lower House is significantly more powerful, the Upper House can delay legislation.

The BJP’s gains in the state elections are seen as a confirmation of Mr Modi’s popularity and are likely to help him push through the economic reforms he has promised.

Still, Mr Modi has failed to win approval from lawmakers for one of his biggest policy changes yet. The opposition blocked his plans to push through legislation to increase foreign participation in the insurance sector in the session of Parliament that ended yesterday.

That is seen as a setback that dims prospects of other key Bills until Mr Modi secures greater sway in the Upper House, or Rajya Sabha, where his coalition lacks a majority. Further delays for the Bill would jeopardise other key moves to overhaul Asia’s third-largest economy, including implementing a national sales tax and making it easier for firms to acquire land.

Expectations of swift changes after Mr Modi won a Lower House majority in May have helped put India’s main stock index among the world’s best performers this year. Agencies

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