Intriguing stat: Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat eludes local candidates; Kathua and Jammu dominate victory streak

Jammu: An intriguing statistic has emerged from the electoral battleground of Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha constituency in the Jammu region: No candidate hailing from either Udhampur or Doda has ever emerged victorious in the parliament seat.

The winner has been either from Kathua or Jammu district. The constituency comprises Doda, Kishtwar, Kathua, Udhampur and Ramban districts and Jammu is not even part of the constituency.

As the election season approaches once again, the constituency is abuzz with political rallies and fervent debates. Among the contenders are seasoned politicians, young aspirants, and the occasional wildcard candidate, each vying to make history in the land where tradition stood firm.

The constituency was established in 1957 and Inderjit Malhotra of the Congress party, who hailed from Jammu district, emerged victorious. In 1967, Karan Singh, the Titular Maharaja of the erstwhile princely state and ‘Sadr-e-Riyasat’ Jammu and Kashmir won on Congress ticket. He was also from Jammu.

In 1968 another Lok Sabha election was held and Congress party managed to win this seat by fielding G S Brigadier, who hailed from Jammu as well. In 1971, 1977 and 1980 elections, Karan Singh won the seat and in 1984 Congress party’s Girdhari Lal Dogra from Kathua emerged victorious.

In 1989, another Congress candidate Dharam Pal belonging to Jammu won the seat. In 1996, 1998 and 1999 BJP’s Chaman Lal Gupta from Jammu won the seat. In 2004 and 2009 Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh emerged victorious. Singh hails from Kathua.

In 2014 and 2019 BJP’s Jitendra Singh won the seat. Though his ancestors are from Doda, Singh was born and brought up in Jammu. The battle this time is between two Rajput Singhs of the BJP and the Congress, both of whom hail from Jammu.

Jitendra Singh of BJP or Lal Singh of Congress are favorites to win Udhampur-Doda segment in 2024 which will keep the interesting stat intact. Though the National Conference (NC) and Congress fielded candidates from Doda several times, they failed to win even once.