AMN / WEB DESK
THE National Conference-Congress alliance has secured absolute majority in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, winning 49 seats.
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) carried the alliance to victory by winning 42 seats in the results declared on Tuesday. Congress could win only six seats.
Ninety seats went to the polls in Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls. The BJP also put up a strong performance, winning 29 seats.
Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP secured three seats, while Sajad Gani Lone’s People’s Conference and Aam Aadmi Party won one seat each. CPI(M) also won one seat. Independents won seven seats.
BJP got 25.64 per cent vote share followed by the National Conference with 23.43 per cent and Congress with 11.97 per cent.
NC leader Omar Abdullah is set to be the next Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. It was the first election in Jammu and Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 and its bifurcation into two Union Territories.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said the new government will seek to address the problems of people.
“The people have given their mandate; they have shown they reject the decision taken on August 5… Omar Abdullah will be the Chief Minister,” the senior Abdullah told reporters.
“We aim to address issues like unemployment and inflation. I am grateful to everyone who cast their votes. Omar Abdullah will be the Chief Minister,” he added.
Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held on September 18, September 25, and October 1.
Both NC and Congress have indicated that restoration of statehood will be their top priority. BJP has retained power in the results of Haryana assembly polls.
National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said the INDIA bloc will stake claim to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir only after the alliance partners meet to elect the leader of the coalition in the assembly. “Let the NC legislative party meet, I am not staking a claim to the chief ministership of J-K. It is for the alliance and the elected members to decide who they feel should lead the state over the next five years, and that is as far as I am willing to go,” Abdullah told reporters outside his residence here. His remarks came after his father and NC president Farooq Abdullah announced Omar would be the chief minister.
The Congress on Tuesday said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have defeated the “mischievous designs” of the BJP to “engineer a majority” and asserted that the Congress-NC government’s priority will be the restoration of full statehood for the Union Territory. The opposition party, however, also conceded that its performance in Jammu should have been better. The pre-poll alliance between the National Conference and Congress managed to cross the halfway mark by securing 48 seats with the regional party getting the lion’s share of 42 seats. The BJP secured 29 seats.
The results of assembly elections in the Kashmir Valley have culminated in a significant rejection of separatist candidates, including those from Engineer Rashid-led Awami Ittehad Party and Jamaat-e-Islami, who failed to make a meaningful impact in the polls.