Following a disappointing performance in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Congress leaders from the Jammu region are advocating for a strategic shift to adopt a “soft Hindutva” approach. The party secured only six seats in the 90-member Assembly, with five victories in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley and one in the Muslim-dominated areas of Jammu. The party failed to win any seats in the Hindu-majority belt of Jammu, where the BJP has maintained dominance.
A senior Congress leader from Jammu, speaking to The New Indian Express, acknowledged the growing influence of the BJP’s Hindutva narrative in the Hindu belt. “Congress is a force in the Hindu belt after BJP. Our candidates received votes in thousands but missed the opportunity. We need to adopt a soft Hindutva policy to counter BJP’s agenda,” the leader said. He said that this does not imply becoming communal but rather engaging with religious sentiments strategically to counter the BJP’s narrative.
The BJP has leveraged its pro-Hindutva stance to consolidate votes in Jammu’s Hindu-majority areas. Another Congress leader remarked that the BJP consistently uses religion as a campaign tool. “We have to counter the BJP on every front, including the Hindutva front. We can no longer shy away from addressing religious issues in our strategy,” the leader said.
Although Congress failed to secure seats in the Hindu belt of Jammu, the party’s vote share in the region increased by 5-10% during the Lok Sabha elections. Leaders see this as an opportunity to strengthen the party’s presence by recalibrating their approach.
In response to the election outcome, the Congress has formed a fact-finding committee to identify the reasons for its poor performance. The committee aims to develop actionable recommendations to regain political ground, particularly in the BJP-dominated areas of Jammu.
