National Conference and Congress alliance set to form next government in J&K

The National Conference and Congress alliance is all set to form the next government in Jammu and Kashmir as it reached the halfway mark by securing 48 seats out of the 90-member Assembly. In the Kashmir region, the National Conference performed exceptionally well by securing 35 seats, while in the Jammu region, the party managed to secure 7 seats. The Indian National Congress bagged six seats, including one seat in the Jammu region.

The PDP has secured only three seats, while seven Independents have been declared victorious in this anticipated election. The Jammu & Kashmir People’s Conference, Communist Party of India (Marxist), and Aam Aadmi Party each claimed one seat. Meanwhile, the BJP dominated the election in the Jammu region and emerged as the second-largest party by securing 29 seats. However, the party has not managed to open its account in the Kashmir region this time.

In Jammu District, BJP candidate Devender Rana won from the Nagrota segment with the highest margin of 30,472 votes. His nearest rival, NC’s Joginder Singh, received 17,641 votes. BJP candidate Narinder Singh Raina won the highly contested R.S. Pura-Jammu



South seat, defeating Congress candidate Raman Bhalla.

The BJP lost two Assembly seats, Bani and Ramban, in the Jammu region. Dr. Rameshwar Singh, an Independent candidate, defeated BJP’s Jewan Lal from Bani by a margin of 18,672 votes. In Ramban, National Conference candidate Arjun Singh Raju defeated Suraj Singh Parihar, a BJP rebel who contested as an Independent.

The I.N.D.I.A. bloc may have emerged victorious in Jammu and Kashmir, but the Congress party has suffered a setback in the Union Territory. The party only managed to win a single seat in Rajouri district. In the last assembly elections, Congress secured 12 seats with 18 percent of the votes. In the last Assembly polls, the BJP won 25 seats, while the PDP emerged as the single largest party. Both parties entered into an alliance and ran the government until the Mehbooba Mufti-led party pulled out in 2018.

Assembly polls were held in three phases in Jammu and Kashmir on September 18, September 25, and October 1. This was the first election since the scrapping of Article 370 from the erstwhile state.