The National Conference (NC) emerged as the single largest party in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) and won 42 seats in the 90-member Assembly of the union territory, while the Bharatiya Janata Party retained its stronghold Jammu by winning 29 seats.
However, the NC ally Congress’ performance was dismal and it only won six seats, five from the Kashmir valley and only one from the Jammu province. It had fielded candidates from 32 seats as part of a seat-sharing arrangement with the NC.
“People have given NC a decisive mandate. This mandate is a rejection of the steps taken by the BJP on August 5, 2019 in Jammu and Kashmir [by abrogating Article 370]. We have done far better than we expected. The BJP is far off from the half mark even. People resoundingly came out and voted for the NC,” National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah, who won from twin seats of Ganderbal and Budgam, told The Hindu.
Mr. Abdullah is fast emerging as the consensus candidate for the post of Chief Minister. The final decision will be made public in the next two days after the allies, the NC and the Congress, meet in Srinagar, party sources said. Meanwhile, NC president Farooq Abdullah said his son would be the next Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
Improves performance
In its first such performance since 1996 when the NC won 57 seats, the party managed to sweep all seats in Kashmir’s valley’s Srinagar district (eight seats), Budgam district (five seats) and Ganderbal district (two seats). In south Kashmir, once a bastion of the PDP, the NC managed to win 10 out of 16 seats. The NC improved its performance in the Jammu province’s Pir Panjal valley and the Chenab valley, where it won six out of 16 seats.
Besides the NC and the BJP, Mehbooba Mufti’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which won 28 seats in 2014, was reduced to just three seats. Sajad Lone’s J&K Peoples Conference, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Engineer Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) and CPI(M) managed to win one seat each. Besides, six independents, including four former NC leaders, also won. Meanwhile, the BJP failed to win a single seat from the Kashmir valley.
In the Jammu region, the BJP swept Jammu district (with 11 seats), Samba district (three seats), Udhampur district (four seats) and Kathua district (six seats). The party upped its figures of 25 in 2014 to 29 this time. Unlike the Pir Panjal valley, it did well in the Chenab valley and managed to win four out of eight seats.
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“The vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi garnered more votes than the NC. People have favoured the BJP’s development-oriented policies. Around 1.4 million people rejected the NC and instead voted for the vision of Prime Minister Modi. People trusted the BJP’s vision of unity and progress,” senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh, election in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir, said.
BJP leader G. Kishan Reddy said his party “fought well”. “We have a 98% success rate in Jammu. We got votes in Kashmir for the first time,” Mr. Reddy said.
The results have paved the way for Jammu and Kashmir. to see its first elected government as a union territory and also first in 10 years. Ms. Mufti too praised the voters of Jammu and Kashmir.
“New Delhi should take the verdict as a lesson. People have given a clear verdict in favour of the NC-Congress coalition. They [the BJP] should not meddle anymore,” Ms. Mufti said. On the PDP’s poor performance, she said, “Ups and downs are part of politics. We will work as a constructive opposition in Jammu and Kashmir.” Ms. Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti too lost from the Bijbehara constituency.
Published - October 08, 2024 08:59 pm IST
