With no Modi wave in sight, is BJP fast moving towards a debacle in J&K?

February 7, Jammu: After a senior leader and Member Parliament from Ladakh - Thupston Chhewang - resigned from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Hindu nationalist party has now received another jolt when its MLA and firebrand leader Lal Singh declared that he would contest Lok Sabha election independently.

Lal Singh is expected to contest the upcoming general elections from Kathua on ticket of his own Dogra Swabhiman Sanghathan. 

BJP's vote-bank, constituting mostly of Hindu population of Jammu region has also receded after the party backpedaled from the promises made before 2014 assembly polls in the state. The promises including abrogation of Article 370, end of discrimination with Jammu region by Kashmir based political parties and provision of jobs to youths in Jammu were allegedly never met with by the BJP even when it has many ministers in the state cabinet.

Several issues also became flashpoints between the Jammu and Kashmir regions. The BJP was unable to resolve these flashpoints in Jammu's favour, and that undermined its credibility with its supporters. People in Jammu say the BJP has knelt before its alliance partner PDP and agreed to whatever it wanted for the sake of sharing power.  

Interestingly BJP had won both parliamentary seats in Jammu region besides all of the 25 seats in the assembly polls last elections. But its alliance with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and unfulfilled poll promises have left many local supporters disillusioned.