Bengaluru
On Wednesday, the BJP in Karnataka claimed that the Congress party’s excessive appeasement of Muslims led to its decline in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). R Ashoka, the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, stated that he had predicted this outcome during a speech in the House. He recalled an incident in February where supporters of Congress member Nasir Ahmad raised “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans in the Karnataka Assembly.
Ashoka argued that the results of the recent J&K Assembly elections supported his claims. He stated that the Congress should realize that Muslim voters support the party only when there are no other options. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah suggested that the Congress should focus on the Hindu-majority Jammu region, indicating that its presence is no longer needed in the Muslim-majority Kashmir region. Ashoka pointed out that without Muslim votes on one side and Hindu votes on the other, the Congress has been eliminated in J&K.
In the 2014 Assembly elections, the Congress won 12 seats with an 18 percent vote share. In 2024, the party was reduced to six seats with only a 12 percent vote share. Ashoka mentioned that the Congress contested 29 seats in the Hindu-majority Jammu region but could win only one seat.
