National Conference, Congress to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir
October 08, 2024 19:19
(Image source from: x.com/TariqKarra)
The National Conference and the Congress party won the Jammu and Kashmir election, defying exit poll predictions of a hung Assembly. The alliance claimed 49 of the 90 elected legislature seats, with the National Conference as the majority partner with 42 wins, compared to the Congress' 6 seats. The BJP, which has never ruled Jammu and Kashmir alone, finished with 29 seats, mostly from the Jammu region. The PDP, which had allied with the BJP after the 2014 election, was expected to play a key role as a possible kingmaker, but their support was not needed in the end.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won only three seats, significantly fewer than the previous election. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Arvind Kejriwal made a notable breakthrough by claiming the Doda seat, though they faced a setback in Kejriwal's home state of Haryana. The Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference also secured a victory, with Sajjad Lone retaining his seat. Interestingly, independent candidates won the remaining seven seats, continuing a trend of J&K voters electing a sizable proportion of non-aligned lawmakers. In terms of vote share, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the clear winner, garnering 25.63% of the votes, a 2.65% increase from 2014. The National Conference (NC) came second with 23.44%, while the Congress managed 11.97%. The NC's vote share increased by around 2.67%, but its ally's (likely referring to the Congress) share decreased by 6%. The PDP's vote share dropped significantly, by 13.8%, to 8.87%. The NC contested in 56 seats and won 42.
Omar Abdullah, who won the elections in Budgam and Ganderbal, has been chosen as the next Chief Minister. His father, former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, who previously stated he didn't want another term, has appointed his son to the position. The Congress party ran candidates for 39 seats and won only 6, a significant decline from the 2014 election when they contested 86 seats and won 12, indicating a poor performance. The BJP gained four more seats in this election, winning a total of 29. The PDP party won three seats, but its leader Mehbooba Mufti's daughter Iltija was not among the winners, losing the Bijbehara seat to the National Conference's Bashir Shah Veeri. The CPIM, allied with the Congress and NC, also won a seat, with Mohd Tarigami winning Kulgam. While exit polls had predicted an edge for the Congress-NC alliance, they ultimately fell short of the 46-seat majority mark, winning an estimated 43 seats, while the BJP was predicted to get 26. The PDP was expected to win between 4 and 12 seats. Additionally, there was controversy over the Lieutenant Governor's nomination of five members with full legislative powers and privileges, following the Delimitation Commission's increase in the number of seats in Jammu and Kashmir, to a total of 95.