Wed Oct 09 10:41:53 UTC 2024: ## National Conference-Congress Alliance Wins Jammu & Kashmir Assembly Elections

**Srinagar, India:** The National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance has secured a decisive victory in the Jammu & Kashmir Assembly elections, ending a ten-year hiatus in the state’s electoral process. The alliance achieved a majority by securing 42 and 6 seats respectively, surpassing the required 46 seats for a majority in the 90-member Assembly.

The BJP, on the other hand, secured 29 seats, all from the Jammu region, failing to win a single seat in the Kashmir Valley. The Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won three seats, while the Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Conference (JPC), CPI(M), and AAP each won one seat.

The election saw a significant number of Independent candidates, with seven securing victory. Notably, NOTA (None of the Above) received a substantial 1.48% of the vote, highlighting a sense of voter dissatisfaction.

The BJP secured the highest vote share at 25.64%, followed by JKN at 23.43% and INC at 11.97%. The remaining parties, including PDP, JPC, CPI(M), and AAP, garnered significantly lower vote shares.

The election witnessed a tight contest in some constituencies, with narrow victories for several candidates. Notably, PDP’s Rafiq Ahmad Naik defeated Congress’ Surinder Singh by a mere 460 votes in the Tral Assembly.

The BJP’s Devendra Singh Rana secured the largest margin of victory, winning the Nagrota seat by a staggering 30,472 votes against NC’s Joginder Singh.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah emerged victorious from the Budgam and Ganderbal seats, defeating PDP’s Aga Muntazir and securing a resounding victory. However, J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina lost the Naushera seat to NC’s Surinder Choudhary by a margin of 7,819 votes.

Other notable outcomes included the defeat of PDP leader Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, in the Srigufwar Bijbehara seat. People’s Conference Party leader Sajjad Gani Lone won the Handwara seat but lost the Kupwara seat to PDP’s Mir Mohammad Faiyaz.

The BJP’s sole female candidate, Shagun Parihar, secured victory in the Kishtwar seat, narrowly defeating an NC candidate.

The election concluded with a voter turnout of 63.45% across three phases of voting held in September and October.

Read More