The INDIA bloc is poised to form the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, having secured a victory in the assembly elections by securing 49 out of 90 seats on which polls were held for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 five years ago.
The National Conference (NC), the oldest regional party in J&K, emerged as the clear frontrunner, winning 42 seats and falling just six seats short of a majority of its own.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] managed to secure the single seat allotted to it under the seat-sharing agreement, while the Congress party won six seats, with five of those in the Kashmir valley.
NC: 42
BJP: 29
Congress: 6
IND: 7
PDP: 4
AAP: 1
7 independents emerge victorious
October 8, 2024 6:15 pm
Satesh Sharma, who left the Congress and contested as an independent from the Chhamb seat of Jammu region, won the election by defeating BJP candidate Rajeev Sharma with a margin of 6,929 votes. Satesh Sharma, 42, who is son of two-time MP and former Congress minister Madan Lal Sharma, polled 33,985 votes. Former deputy chief minister and Congress candidate Tara Chand, who had won this seat three times, finished third with 16,449 votes. In Inderwal, independent candidate Payare Lal Sharma defeated veteran leader Gulam Mohammad Saroori by a narrow margin of 643 votes. Sharma received 14,195 votes, while Saroori, also an independent candidate, secured 13,552 votes. Saroori had previously won this seat twice. In Bani, independent candidate Dr Rameshwar Singh defeated BJP nominee and former MLA Jewan Lal by 2,048 votes. Singh secured 18,672 votes, while Lal polled 16,624 votes. In the Surankote assembly segment, independent candidate and National Conference rebel Choudhary Mohammad Akram defeated Congress’ Mohammad Shahnawaz by a margin of 8,851 votes. Akram received 34,201 votes. Muzaffar Iqbal Khan won the Thanamandi seat with a margin of 6,179 votes against BJP candidate Mohmmad Iqbal Malik. Khan garnered 32,645 votes. Khursheed Ahmed Sheikh secured 25,984 votes and defeated Peoples Conference’s Irfan Sultan Panditpuri by a margin of 1,602 votes in the Langate assembly seat. Similarly, Shabir Ahmed Kullay defeated National Conference candidate Sheikh Mohmmad Rafi by a margin of 1,207 votes in the Shopian seat. PTI
BJP’s Devender Rana wins with highest margin, PDP’s Rafiq Ahmad Naik with lowest
October 8, 2024 6:07 pm
BJP candidate Devender Rana won from Nagrota segment with the highest margin while the PDP’s Tral candidate Rafiq Ahmad Naik had the lowest margin for victory in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections whose results were declared on Tuesday. Rana, who had won the 2014 assembly elections on the National Conference ticket, retained the Nagrota seat on BJP ticket by a margin of 30,472 votes. His nearest rival, NC’s Joginder Singh, got 17,641 votes. PTI
Former deputy CM Tara Chand fails to win Congress’ traditional bastion of Chhamb
October 8, 2024 5:50 pm
Former Deputy Chief Minister and Congress candidate Tara Chand on Tuesday lost his traditional bastion of the Chhamb seat, which was won by rebel independent candidate Satesh Sharma with a margin of 6,929 votes. PTI
Omar will be chief minister: Farooq Abdullah
October 8, 2024 2:31 pm
Omar Abdullah will be the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, his father and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah announced as the party looked on course to come to power in the union territory with ally Congress. "Omar Abdullah will be the chief minister," the senior Abdullah told reporters when asked who would be the alliance's CM face. The NC president also said the verdict was a proof that the people of J-K were against the abrogation of Article 370. "The people have given their verdict and proven that the decisions taken on August 5, 2019 are not acceptable to them," he said. "I am thankful to everyone that the people participated in the polls and did so freely. I am grateful to God for the results." The former Union minister said the elected government would have do a lot of work to end the "sufferings" of the people. "We have to end unemployment and address issues like inflation and drug menace. Now, there will be no LG and his advisors. Now, there will be 90 MLAs who will work for people," he said.
Omar Abdullah secures unassailable lead in Budgam
October 8, 2024 1:33 pm
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah secured an unassailable lead of over 16,000 votes against PDP candidate Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam seat. With just one round of counting to go, Abdullah secured 32,344 votes which was 16,294 more than Mehdi's 16,050 votes. Abdullah, who is the front runner for the post of chief minister, is also leading from the family bastion of Ganderbal by a margin of over 5,000 votes over PDP candidate Bashir Ahmad Mir.
BJP's Darshan Kumar wins from Basohli
October 8, 2024 12:16 pm
BJP's first victory in Jammu and Kashmir, Darshan Kumar defeats Congress's Lal Singh by 16,000 votes from Basohli seat
BJP's Qadri leads from Shopian
October 8, 2024 10:36 am
Javid Ahmad Qadri, BJP candidate from Shopian leading
Omar Abdullah is leads in both seats; Iltija Mufti, Rashid brother trail
October 8, 2024 10:01 am
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah is leading on both Budgam and Ganderbal seats, while Iltija Mufti of the PDP is trailing from Srigufwara-Biejbehara seat, according to initial trends. People's Conference president Sajad Lone, who is also contesting from two seats, is leading in Handwara seat by a slender margin, while trailing in Kupwara segment, according to Election Commission trends for Jammu and Kashmir. Sheikh Khursheed, brother of Lok Sabha member Shiekh Abdul Rashid, is trailing behind People's Conference candidate Irfan Sultan Panditpuri.
J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina trails
October 8, 2024 9:42 am
J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina trailing in Nowshera constituency, NC'S Surinder Kumar leading by 2,797 votes: Election Commission.
Iltija Mufti trails
October 8, 2024 9:32 am
Waheed Ur Rehman Para, Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party, leads and Iltija Mehbooba Mufti, Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party, trails
Confident National Conference winning: Mubarak Gul
October 8, 2024 9:29 am
We are confident, have worked hard, rest is on God: Sajad Lone
October 8, 2024 9:02 am
The exit polls are never exact:, Independent candidate from Chhamb
October 8, 2024 8:56 am
We are hopeful of victory: Omar
October 8, 2024 8:53 am
JK BJP chief Raina performs 'yagya'
October 8, 2024 8:48 am
Ahead of the commencement of counting of votes in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP state unit president Ravinder Raina performed a 'yagya' Tuesday morning and expressed confidence the party would secure a majority and form a government, potentially with the support of Independents. Tight security measures have been put in place at all the 20 counting centers at district headquarters across Jammu and Kashmir.
Counting underway at Polytechnic College in Jammu
October 8, 2024 8:37 am
Visuals from a counting centre in Rajouri
October 8, 2024 8:33 am
Main stakeholders
October 8, 2024 8:17 am
The Congress-National Conference alliance, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are the main stakeholders in the keenly watched assembly election held five years after the erstwhile state was bifurcated into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Confident that a BJP-led alliance: Pradeep Bhandari
October 8, 2024 8:17 am
Adequate checkpoints
October 8, 2024 8:15 am
Across the UT, adequate checkpoints have been set up within a 100-meter perimeter of each counting centre and CCTV cameras have been installed in all strong rooms where the EVMs are stored to closely monitor all activities, the officials say. A day ahead of the verdict, parties have kept their fingers crossed. The three-phase elections to the 90-member J&K Assembly were held after a gap of 10 years. J&K recorded an overall voter turnout of 63.88 per cent in the 2024 Assembly elections against 65.84 per cent in the 2014 elections. On Tuesday, the BJP would expect to secure at least 30 seats in Jammu to maintain its dominance in the Hindu-dominated division. If the saffron party manages to bag over 30 seats, it would eye for smaller parties and independents in the Valley to form a BJP-led government in the UT. The exit polls have given an edge to the saffron party in the Jammu region by projecting its win on 25-30 seats.
