Setback for BJP in 2 key Hindu-majority seats in Jammu region

The BJP lost to an Independent candidate from Bani Assembly seat in Jammu and Kashmir by 18,672 votes, while the party lost to the National Conference in Ramban by a margin of 8,869 votes.

In Short

• Independent Dr Rameshwar Singh won from Bani, defeated BJP's Jewan Lal
• National Conference candidate Arjun Singh Raju won from Ramban
• Despite setbacks, BJP maintained its dominance in Jammu region

The BJP lost two key Hindu-majority Assembly seats - Bani and Ramban - in the Jammu region, where it maintained its hold as counting of votes for the Assembly polls were underway on Tuesday.

Dr Rameshwar Singh, an Independent candidate, defeated BJP's Jewan Lal from Bani by a margin of 18,672 votes, according to the Election Commission. Jewan Lal had won from this seat in the 2014 Assembly election.

In Ramban, National Conference candidate Arjun Singh Raju defeated Suraj Singh Parihar, a BJP rebel, who contested as an Independent, by 8,869 votes. BJP's Rakesh Singh Thakur finished third with 17,254 votes. In the 2014 Assembly polls, the BJP had won from this seat.

The BJP won 29 seats in Jammu and Kashmir, mostly in Jammu region, The National Conference-Congress alliance coasted to victory, winning 47 seats and leading on one.

In the 2014 Assembly polls, the BJP won 25 seats while the PDP emerged as the single largest party. Both parties entered into an alliance and ran the government until the Mehbooba Mufti-led party pulled out in 2018, resulting in the collapse of the government.

Assembly polls were held in three phases in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18, 25 and October 1, the first such elections in a decade, and also the first since the scrapping of Article 370 from the erstwhile state.