As Jammu and Kashmir prepares to mark six years since the removal of Article 370 on August 5, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning a public campaign to highlight the development and changes that have taken place under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership since 2019 in the region.
This campaign also comes in response to the Congress party, which is holding protests to demand the return of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP’s top leaders have asked their workers in Jammu and Kashmir to organise rallies, public meetings, social media activities, and small events in villages. The party plans to highlight progress in law and order, a decrease in incidents of violence, better delivery of welfare schemes, jobs, development, and investment.
Sofi Yousuf, BJP’s vice-president for Jammu and Kashmir, said the party wants to reach people directly and share what has been achieved over the past six years. “We are not against the return of statehood,” he said. “But peace must come first. We would even accept Omar Abdullah as Chief Minister, but only after terrorism ends.”
The BJP’s campaign comes just after the Congress launched its movement called ‘Hamari Riyasat, Hamara Haq’ (Our State, Our Right). Congress has held protests, sit-ins, and public meetings across the region, asking the central government to clearly say when statehood will be restored. Congress says people have been denied their rights for too long.
To counter this, the BJP is preparing to start its events from 5 August – the same day Article 370 was revoked in 2019. The party wants to use the date to remind people why the special status was removed and how the region has benefited since then. BJP leaders will talk about improved security, rising tourism, less corruption, and equal rights for all.
The campaign will include BJP workers at all levels – from local booth members to district leaders and youth and women’s groups. They will go door to door, hold small gatherings, and hand out booklets showing what the Modi government has done in Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP has also criticised Congress, saying it allowed separatism, dynastic politics, and corruption to grow when it was in power. BJP leaders claim they have broken down barriers between Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India, giving everyone equal rights.
The BJP also says that Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have already promised to bring back statehood, but only when there is full peace and a stable administration.
Senior BJP leaders, including some Union ministers, are likely to attend campaign events in Jammu and Kashmir. The party is especially focusing on Jammu, where it is strong, but also plans to reach out to far-off areas and villages near the border.
As both the BJP and Congress push their campaigns, the political scene in Jammu and Kashmir is heating up. While Congress hopes to win support by raising the issue of statehood, the BJP believes its record of development and focus on peace will strike a chord with the people across the region.
