NEW DUO TAKE ON BIG TWO

J&K Apni Party and DPAP along with People's Conference hope to end the old dominance of the National Conference and the PDP in the Lok Sabha polls

- Moazum Mohammad

Jammu and Kashmir is getting ready for its first Lok Sabha election since the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into Union territories. Making the contest interesting is the presence of two new local parties the J&K Apni Party and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), both of which cropped up after 2019. Along with the J&K People's Conference, they are posing an unforeseen challenge to the traditional dominance of the National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Polls are to be held in the UT in the first five of the seven phases: April 19 (Udhampur constituency), April 26 (Jammu), May 7 (Anantnag-Rajouri), May 13 (Srinagar) and May 20 (Baramulla). The erstwhile J&K state had six Lok Sabha seats-three in Kashmir, two in Jammu, one in Ladakh. After its bifurcation under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 increased the number of assembly constituencies to 114 from 107, a delimitation exercise became necessary. Post that exercise, LS seats in J&K remain at five, but electoral boundaries have been redrawn, allegedly altering the political landscape in favour of the BJP.