Jammu Praja Parishad

The Jammu Praja Parishad (JPP; lit. 'Jammu People's Council or Jammu People's Assembly'), formally named All Jammu and Kashmir Praja Parishad (lit. 'All Jammu and Kashmir People's Council or All Jammu and Kashmir People's Assembly'), was a political party in the Jammu Division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. It was founded in November 1947 by Balraj Madhok under the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindutva paramilitary organisation, and the party served as the main opposition in the state. It maintained close ties with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the national political arm of the RSS, during its lifetime and merged with the latter in 1963. Its main activity was to campaign for the close integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India and oppose the special status granted to the state under the Article 370 of the Indian constitution. After its merger with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor of the present day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party gradually rose in stature. As an integral part of the BJP, it was a partner in the ruling coalition led by the People's Democratic Party.