BJP wins all seven SC seats but loses nine ST seats in J&K

SRINAGAR: The BJP, which emerged as the second largest party in J&K Assembly polls by winning 29 seats, won all the seven seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) in Jammu region but could not win a single seat reserved for tribal communities (STs) despite granting of reservation to the Paharis and three other communities.After the delimitation of constituencies in J&K, 16 Assembly seats in the region were reserved for SCs and STs. Of the 16 seats, 9 seats were reserved for STs and seven for SCs.With an eye on the ST votebank, the BJP government this year granted reservation to Paharis and three other communities, much to the annoyance of the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities. Paharis have a large population in Rajouri and Poonch districts.According to Gujjars and Bakerwals, the Paharis are an affluent community and should not have been granted the ST status.Granting ST status to Paharis and three other communities did not bring the desired results for BJP and it could not win a single out of 9 seats reserved for ST in J&K.



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