J-K Assembly polls: BJP tops vote share, Independent candidates outdo PDP

In the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured the highest share of votes, although the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance ultimately won the polls. This was the first election in J&K following the abrogation of Article 370. The Congress-NC alliance is now set to form the government, having secured a majority of seats in the Assembly.

Notably, Independent candidates won more seats than Mehbooba Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP secured three seats in the 90-member Assembly, while Independent candidates captured seven seats in the Union Territory.

The election results, announced on Tuesday, showed a decisive victory for the Congress-NC alliance. The NC emerged as the largest party with 42 seats, while the Congress won six seats, bringing their total to 48 — just two above the majority threshold.

Meanwhile, the BJP won 29 seats, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made its debut in the J&K Assembly by winning the Doda constituency.

Despite not winning the most seats, the BJP’s vote share stood at 25.5 per cent, the highest in the region, followed by the NC at 23.4 per cent. The Congress had a vote share of 11.9 per cent, and the PDP, once a BJP ally, had an 8.8 per cent share.

The PDP, formed 25 years ago and led by former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, first achieved electoral success in 2002. In the 2014 elections, it won 28 out of 87 seats.

These elections, conducted after a decade-long hiatus, took place in three phases — September 18, September 25, and October 1. This was the first Assembly election since Article 370 was revoked in August 2019, which led to the bifurcation of the former state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

J&K Assembly polls: Omar Abdullah set to become CM

Omar Abdullah is set to return as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir for a second term, just months after suffering a defeat to Sheikh Abdul Rashid in the Baramulla constituency during the Lok Sabha elections.

Following the Assembly poll results, Abdullah called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fulfil his promise and restore the statehood stripped five years ago after the scrapping of Article 370.

"The Prime Minister is an honourable man... he promised the people of J&K statehood, and I hope he lives up to that," he told NDTV.

He further added, "Nowhere has the BJP ever said — first there will be our government and then statehood. The Prime Minister never said that. The people of J&K have spoken, and I hope he will now be magnanimous and restore statehood at the earliest."