Amit Shah says all options open in J-K, BJP to form govt in Jharkhand

Srinagar and Ranchi, December 23, 2014 : ammu and Kashmir will have a hung assembly with no party nearing the majority mark in the 87-member state assembly, while the BJP-led alliance looks set to form Jharkhand's first single-party majority government.The BJP also made big gains in Jammu, while the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference (NC) swept the Kashmir region. The Congress performed impressively in the Ladakh region.BJP Party workers celebrate after Jharkhand Assembly election results are declared, at the state party office in Ranchi on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)With the PDP emerging the single-largest party in the state, the question now is whose support Mufti Mohammed Sayeed will seek in a bid to form a government.
Sources say the PDP is split over whether to ally with the Congress or the BJP. One section was of the opinion that going with the BJP would alienate the party's voter base, while the other section believed that joining hands with the Congress was against voter sentiment.related storyBullet-less ballot: Maoists keep their guns down for a changeThe BJP, which emerged the second largest party in J-K, too kept its cards closed. "All options in J-K are open to us. We can become part of a government or provide support to a  government," BJP chief Amit Shah said at a press conferenceAs the counting of votes began at 8am Tuesday, the saffron party took an early lead in both states, indicating that exit poll predictions of a clean sweep by the BJP in Jharkhand (81 seats) and a second-place finish in J-K might come true.The contests, however, intensified as the counting progressed. By 3pm, Kashmir's outgoing ruling National Conference (NC) had won 11 seats; it was ahead in four more. There was a



close contest between principal opposition PDP and the BJP: the former bagged 21 seats and was ahead in eight, while the latter won 22 seats and was leading in three till the filing of this report.The constituencies in which the BJP won or had an upper hand were in Hindu-dominated Jammu region, which accounts for 36 assembly constituencies in the state. The party was trailing in all three seats of the Muslim-majority Poonch district in Jammu.  Also, the saffron party was leading in five constituencies out of the nine where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed the rallies in the run-up to the elections.Modi had addressed nine rallies in total including one in Srinagar-Kashmir division, where his party is unlikely to open an account.Chief minister Omar Abudullah lost to the PDP Srinagar's Sonawar constituency, but managed to narrowly win Beerwah the other seat he was contesting. In Jharkhand, he BJP alliance was inching towards the halfway mark of 41, with Sibu Soren's JMM a distant second with around 20 seats. The Congress stares at single-digit number."The people of Jharkhand have given clear majority to a political party for the first time after the formation of the state," said Shah, while also stressing the party's dream run in elections following the April-May Lok Sabha poll victory and successes in Haryana and Maharashtra."I extend my wishes to the BJP workers in both states as it wouldn't have been possible without their efforts," Shah said, adding the results were as per his expectationsAccording to the Election Commission, the overall turnout in elections for both states held over November and December stood at 66% -- a record for militancy-hit J-K, especially, with the percentage being its highest in two decades.