Nowshera Assembly Election Results 2024 LIVE: Shocker for BJP! Ravinder Raina loses to NC's SK Choudhary by over 7,800 votes

In a huge shock to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its Jammu & Kashmir unit chief Ravinder Raina has lost in the Nowshera assembly constituency in Rajouri district. Raina lost to National Conference's Surinder Kumar Choudhary by a margin of 7,819 votes, according to the Election Commission data. 

Choudhary bagged a total of 35,069 votes whereas Raina could garner 27,250 votes. Haq Nawaz of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Manohar Singh also lost from the constituency. 

Nawaz could garner merely 425 votes, losing the election by a margin of more than 34,600 votes. Manohar Singh lost by a whopping 33,613 votes. Voting for the state elections concluded on October 1. 

The constituency, located in Jammu's Rajouri district, plays a key role in the state's politics mainly due to its cosmopolitan voter base comprising Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. The area is also key to Jammu & Kashmir's politics due to its strategic location close to the Line of Control (LOC) with Pakistan. 

Raina faced a multi-pronged contest against Jammu & Kashmir People's Democratic Party's (JKPDP) Haq Nawaz, J&K National Conference (JKNC)'s Surinder Chaudhary, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)'s Manohar Singh, and Independent candidate Shiv Dev Sharma. 

The multi-pronged contest, however, is not the only challenge that Raina is facing. The state BJP chief is also facing voters' anger on issues such as lack of comprehensive development, inadequate focus on local livelihoods, and ceasefire violations and displacement. 

Moreover, some voters feel that Raina tends to over-promise and under-deliver. While his strong rhetoric in election speeches upped the ante, the lack of follow-through in areas like employment generation and rural development has caused slight upset. 

Despite the challenges at hand, Raina is seen as someone ho actively backs the Indian Army while ensuring the safety of border villages. Another thing that can work for him is his efforts to address the concerns of military personnel and veterans in the region.

More often than not, he has often supported the demands of ex-servicemen for better facilities and pushed for job opportunities for youth in defense services. Ravinder Raina has also been involved in pushing for the implementation of central government's social welfare schemes such as Ayushman Bharat and Ujjwala Yojana. 

In a nutshell, voters back Raina for his nationalist image but also expect practical and sustained solutions for local issues including agriculture, healthcare, and employment.

In the 2014 assembly elections, Raina had clinched the border constituency for the BJP, garnering 37.374 votes and a vote share of 49.51 per cent. His closest rival was Jammu & Kashmir People's Democratic Party's (JKPDP) Surinder Chaudhary.

Chaudhary bagged 27,871 votes and a vote share of 36.92 per cent in the constituency. In this election, the constituency witnessed a voter turnout of 79.68 per cent.