NC-Congress Alliance Poised to Form Government in J&K

SUHAIL KHAN

SRINAGAR, Oct 08: The National Conference-Congress alliance is on the verge of forming the government in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to data from the Election Commission available to Kashmir Despatch, NC has secured 42 seats, while the Congress has won six. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) obtained 29 seats, and the Peoples Democratic Party managed to secure three only. Additionally, seven independent candidates emerged victorious, while the Jammu & Kashmir People’s Conference, Aam Aadmi Party, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) each claimed one seat.

In this election cycle, the NC-Congress formed a pre-poll alliance, with NC contesting 51 of the 90 Assembly seats and the Congress fielding candidates in 32 constituencies. The two parties engaged in “friendly fights” in five other constituencies, leaving one seat for the CPI (M) and another for the J&K National Panthers Party.

As the NC-Congress alliance prepares to take power in J&K, it’s important to reflect on their historically complex relationship.

The counting of votes for the 90 Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, as per Kashmir Despatch Correspondent, began at 8 AM, representing the culmination of an electoral process aimed at establishing an elected government after a six-year hiatus. This electoral cycle follows the collapse of the PDP-BJP coalition on June 20, 2018, and the subsequent abrogation of Article 370.

Jammu and Kashmir has held its first Assembly elections since 2014, marking it as the first to be conducted as a Union Territory and the first since the revocation of Article 370, which previously granted the state special status.

A senior police officer told Kashmir Despatch that, to ensure smooth proceedings throughout the course of these Assembly elections, a three-tier security arrangement was implemented. However, on counting day, strict measures were enforced. The official, however, stated that everything went well and ended on a peaceful note without any untoward incidents reported across the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

He also praised all the security agencies and their personnel for being on alert during these two months to ensure a peaceful environment across the union territory.

Historical Context: The Evolution of NC-Congress Relations

Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah

Relations between Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Abdullah improved significantly after the 1975 accord, leading to Abdullah’s appointment as Chief Minister and the revitalization of the NC. However, when Congress withdrew its support in March 1977, the state briefly fell under President’s rule. Abdullah returned to power later that year and remained in office until his death in 1982.

Farooq Abdullah and Congress

Following his father’s death, Farooq Abdullah assumed the Chief Ministership in 1982. Relations soured in July 1984 when Governor Jagmohan dismissed Farooq’s government after it lost support from legislators. Subsequently, unrest escalated in J&K, prompting Rajiv Gandhi to mend ties with Farooq Abdullah. The two parties contested the 1987 Assembly elections as allies, but the elections garnered criticism for alleged rigging.

Omar Abdullah and Congress

In a surprising turn in 1999, Farooq Abdullah aligned with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and his son, Omar Abdullah, became a minister in the Union government. However, the NC’s fortunes waned in the subsequent 2002 Assembly elections, leading to a loss of both power and influence.

Following the break with the NDA in 2003, Omar was elected Chief Minister, and the NC and Congress formed a post-poll alliance. This partnership continued for several years but faced turmoil in subsequent elections. By 2014, both parties parted ways, failing to secure any parliamentary seats.

Despite previous disputes, including disagreements over the creation of new administrative units, the NC and Congress united again in 2017 for local elections and contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls jointly, although tensions persisted regarding campaign strategies.

In the most recent elections earlier this year, both parties participated in the Lok Sabha elections as part of the INDIA bloc, with Omar Abdullah’s NC and Rahul Gandhi’s Congress joining forces to contest the Assembly polls once more.

The NC-Congress alliance is now strengthened, showcasing their evolution from historical rivals to partners in governance.

Meanwhile, National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah announced on Tuesday that his son, Omar Abdullah, will be the Chief Minister.

Omar Abdullah, just four months ago, lost the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat to Sheikh Abdul Rashid Alias Er Rashid by over two lakh votes; however, in this Assembly election, he won from two seats, Ganderbal and Budgam, by a significant margin.

Pertinently, the National Conference and Congress contested this Assembly election in alliance on 83 seats altogether: 51 seats were fought by the NC and 32 by the Congress. One seat each was set aside for the CPI (M) and the J&K Panthers Party.

In five seats, both NC and Congress engaged in “friendly contests,” including Sopore, Banihal, Bhaderwah, Doda, Nagrota, and Baramulla.

SUHAIL KHAN

SRINAGAR, Oct 8: The Jammu and Kashmir assembly election results are out, with the National Conference (NC) emerging as the single-largest party with 42 seats, while its alliance with the Indian National Congress (INC) has jointly secured a total of 48 seats.

The results have given the NC-Congress combine a clear mandate to form the government, marking a significant political development in the Union Territory. This election was the first to take place after the revocation of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir’s bifurcation into two Union Territories in 2019.

Divided Capitals: Srinagar and Jammu

The results reflect a clear division between the twin capitals of the region. Srinagar, the summer capital, sided with the NC-Congress alliance, while Jammu, the winter capital, overwhelmingly supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP, despite being the second-largest party in the region, failed to secure a single seat from the Kashmir Valley.

NC has notably clinched seven out of eight seats in Srinagar district, solidifying its stronghold here, while Jammu district voted heavily for BJP, with the party winning 10 out of 11 seats in the region.

NC’s Dominance in Kashmir

NC’s success is most pronounced in the Kashmir Valley, where the party secured 35 out of its 42 seats. In contrast, it managed to win seven seats in the Jammu division. The victory cements NC’s dominant position in the Valley, as the party capitalized on issues of regional autonomy and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

NC Vice President Omar Abdullah emerged victorious in two crucial constituencies: Ganderbal and Budgam. In Ganderbal, he secured 32,727 votes, defeating his closest rival, Bashir Ahmad Mir of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), by a margin of 10,574 votes. In Budgam, Omar Abdullah won with 36,010 votes, defeating Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi of PDP by 18,485 votes.

Several other key constituencies in Kashmir also swung in favor of NC:

Karnah: Javaid Ahmad Mirchal won with 14,294 votes.

Trehgam: Saifullah Mir secured 18,002 votes.

Lolab: Qaysar Jamshaid Lone won with a margin of 7,871 votes.

Rafiabad: Javid Ahmad Dar emerged victorious with 9,202 votes.

Uri: Sajjad Shafi won by 14,469 votes.

Baramulla: Javid Hassan Baig secured 11,773 votes.

Gulmarg: Pirzada Farooq Ahmed Shah won by 4,191 votes.

Pattan: Javaid Riyaz narrowly won with 603 votes.

Sonawari: Hilal Akbar Lone clinched 13,744 votes.

Gurez (ST): Nazir Ahmad Khan won by 1,132 votes.

The NC’s dominance extended across other key districts, including Hazratbal, Khanyar, Beerwah, and Chrar-i-Sharief, where its candidates won by significant margins.

Congress’s Performance and BJP’s Gains in Jammu

The Congress, while riding on the coattails of the NC’s success, managed to secure six seats. The party performed notably in Anantnag, where Peerzada Mohammad Syed won by a slim margin of 1,686 votes, and in Wagoora-Kreeri, where Irfan Hafiz Lone emerged victorious with 7,751 votes.

The BJP, on the other hand, strengthened its position in the Jammu region, increasing its seat count from 25 in the 2014 elections to 29 seats this time around. The party’s victories came primarily from Jammu district and the surrounding regions, with key wins in constituencies like Kishtwar, Udhampur, Ramgarh, and Nagrota. However, despite these gains, BJP failed to secure any foothold in the Kashmir Valley.

Notable victories for BJP include:

Kishtwar, Padder-Nagseni, and Reasi: BJP dominated, reflecting its continued appeal in these areas.

Jammu East: A crucial win for BJP as the party retained a strong presence in the heart of Jammu.

Other Parties and Independents

The PDP, once a formidable force in Jammu and Kashmir politics, managed to secure only three seats—Kupwara, Tral, and Pulwama—further highlighting the party’s decline in influence since its last term in power.

The People’s Conference (PC), led by Sajad Lone, secured only one seat, with Lone himself winning in Handwara, maintaining a presence in northern Kashmir but unable to make significant gains elsewhere.

Interestingly, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has made its first footprint in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly by winning a seat in Doda, signaling a potential for future growth.

Additionally, seven independent candidates emerged victorious, with Langate seeing the win of Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh, brother of Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) Chief Er Rashid, by a margin of 1,602 votes. Other independents won in constituencies like Shopian, Inderwal, and Bani, showcasing a diversity of political alignments in the region.

With the NC-Congress alliance securing 48 seats, Jammu and Kashmir is poised for a coalition government. The BJP, although a powerful force in Jammu, remains a distant second in terms of total seats, and its ambitions to make inroads in the Valley were largely unmet. The decline of PDP, the emergence of independents, and the first victory for AAP all point to an evolving political landscape in the Union Territory. As the first election after the revocation of Article 370, the results reflect the complexities and shifting allegiances of the electorate across the region.

Srinagar — The INDIA bloc is poised to form the first elected government in Jammu and Kashmir, having secured a victory in the assembly elections by securing 49 out of 90 seats on which polls were held for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 five years ago.

The National Conference (NC), the oldest regional party in J&K, emerged as the clear frontrunner, winning 42 seats and falling just six seats short of a majority of its own.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] managed to secure the single seat allotted to it under the seat-sharing agreement, while the Congress party won six seats, with five of those in the Jammu region.

The elections in J&K virtually turned a nightmare for the Congress as it won only one seat from the Jammu region.

The BJP also made notable gains, winning 29 seats — its best performance in J&K to date, up from 25 seats in the 2014 elections.

Despite the defeat of J&K BJP president Ravindra Raina, the party’s vote share increased from 23 per cent in 2014 to 25.64 per cent this year.

However, political analysts do not read much into the increased tally of the BJP and mainly attribute it to the recent delimitation of assembly seats in which many strongholds of the BJP were bifurcated into two like Kishtwar and Nagrota and others in Jammu district.

The NC saw a rise in its vote share as well, improving from 20.77 per cent in 2014 to 23.43 per cent this election cycle.

In contrast, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) experienced significant losses, winning only three seats compared to 28 in 2014 and witnessing its vote share drop from 22.67 per cent to just 8.87 per cent.

The Congress also faced a decline, securing only six seats — down from 12 seats a decade ago — with a corresponding drop in vote share from 18 per cent to approximately 12 per cent.

There are only three women winners — Sakina Masood, Shamima Firdous (both NC) and Shagun Parihar (BJP) — among the 90 successful candidates.

Two NC veterans — Abdul Rahim Rather (Chrar-e-Sharief) and Ali Mohammad Sagar (Khanyar) — have won for the seventh term as MLA in J&K.

Among the other key winners were NC vice president Omar Abdullah, J&K Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra, PDP youth president Waheed Para and BJP leader Devender Rana.

The key losers include former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig (Independent), Congress leader Tara Chand, PCC working president Raman Bhalla, former PCC president Vaqar Rsool Wani and NC provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani.

Omar Abdullah, a likely candidate for the chief minister’s position after winning in both Budgam and Ganderbal, expressed gratitude to the electorate for their support.

“We are committed to serving the people and addressing their concerns in this new mandate,” he stated.

Abdullah said many attempts were made to destroy his party over the last five years by creating new outfits which have been decimated in this election.

“There were attempts to destroy the NC over the last five years. So many parties were created here, whose only aim was to destroy the NC. But, God’s grace has been on us and those who tried to destroy us, have been decimated in the process,” Abdullah told reporters here after receiving his winning certificate from the returning officer for the Budgam seat.

He said the verdict has increased the party’s responsibilities.

PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, while congratulating the NC-Congress alliance for the victory, said the Centre should take a lesson from the decisive verdict of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls and “not meddle” in the affairs of the upcoming NC-Congress government.

She said her party would play the role of a constructive opposition.

“I congratulate the NC leadership for its spectacular win. I also want to congratulate the people of J&K for voting for a stable government and not a hung assembly because the people faced several problems especially after August 5, 2019. A stable and strong government is very important for the redressal of those problems,” Mufti told reporters here.

CPI(M) candidate Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami won the assembly election from the Kulgam seat in for the fifth consecutive time, defeating former member of banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Sayar Ahmad Reshi by more than 7,800 votes.

Tarigami said the trends showed that the vote of the people is against the central government and its policies.

“The writing is on the wall and the vote of the people is against the BJP government and its policies,” Tarigami told PTI Videos.

The counting of votes began at 8 am at 28 counting centres for the 90 seats of Jammu and Kashmir assembly which went to polls in three phases. — (PTI)