Hung assembly in Jammu and Kashmir

The verdict for 87-seat Jammu and Kashmir state assembly has come out and no single party obtained a clear majority, thus powering it to a hung assembly. Prospect of a coalition between the friends turn foes and foes turn friends, National Conference and Congress is round the corner.

The National Conference (NC) has emerged as the leading party with 28 seats while People’s Democratic Party (PDP) managed to get hold of 21 seats; however, the biggest gainer of this election is Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with 11 seats, 10 more than the previous assembly poll in 2002.

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Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference has already made it clear that there will be no alliance with BJP as they consider their earlier alliance with BJP-led NDA government a mistake, and they don’t want to continue with BJP’s communal political agenda.

The result of the seven-phased polls declared on Sunday (Dec 28) evening also registered 10 seats won by independent candidates. However, this time the role of independents wouldn’t bear any decisive part in government formation as both NC and Congress have the magic number of 44, if they go to hold the power that is now in all proximity.

NC President Omar Abdullah said that he believed like-minded parties like the National Conference and the Congress “who don’t sacrifice the interest of the people for populous politics to come together.”

On the other hand, PDP President Mehbooba Mufti too termed their performance ‘positive’ as the party has improved its seat count from 16 (in 2002) to 21, including 19 seats from Kashmir. No doubt, PDP has gained from the Amarnath land transfer issue over which it withdrew support to its coalition partner Congress.

Despite BJP’s agenda in Jammu, Congress managed to assert its hold over 17 seats, three less than the 2002 poll. However, both NC and Congress have lost 7.1% and 6% in terms of vote share respectively.

The highlight of this election is the large number of voters, over 60 per cent, who came out despite all odds and bravely participated in the elections.

Meanwhile, senior leaders of Congress party including party president Sonia Gandhi are meeting on Monday before deciding finally whether they are going with NC or not. BJP, in contrast, has said that the Bharatiya Janata Party will not support any party in Jammu and Kashmir.