Srinagar: Notwithstanding the remarkable performance of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jammu region, the saffron party was not able to make inroad in Kashmir valley and also failed to open an account in the Ladakh region.
Despite a high voltage campaigning by top brass of the BJP including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the saffron party, which was banking on migrant Pandit votes to win five seats in Kashmir and three in Ladakh region where the party candidate Thupstan Chhewang won the Lok Sabha elections a few months ago, failed to secure any seat in the valley.
BJP's 'Mission 44-plus' failed to cut much ice in the valley despite Modi's rally in Kashmir, where 33 out of 34 candidates of the saffron party lost their deposit.
Out of seven seats it contested in Srinagar district, BJP managed to secure just 9904 votes. The BJP candidate Masoodul Hassan in Hazratbal seat secured the highest 2635 votes while Neelam Gaash in Zadibal seat managed only 360 votes.
In Habakadal constituency, which has the maximum number of eligible Kashmiri Pandit voters, BJP candidate Moti Koul lost to NC leader Shamima Firdous by a margin of 2359 votes.
Interestingly, Congress won four seats out of eight seats, which the BJP was eyeing on in Kashmir valley and Ladakh region. The party won three out of four seats in Ladakh while it also bagged Sopore seat, which is the hometown of hardliner Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The Congress party which was seen as a distant four by most of the exit-polls, managed to win 12 seats, against 17 seats it bagged in 2008, giving a second option to the PDP.
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