Voting for the 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir began at 7 a.m. Initial counts suggest that the exit polls may have misrepresented the situation, with the India Alliance surpassing the majority mark. As counting commenced, National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah issued a warning to the BJP against any attempts to undermine public opinion. As results emerge from the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, the future power dynamics will become clearer after today's counts.
These elections mark the first in nearly a decade, with the Congress-NC alliance reportedly obtaining a majority while the BJP falls behind. Abdullah expressed confidence in their victory, stating, "I hope we will win. This decision rests with the voters of Jammu and Kashmir and will be clear by this afternoon. The election results should be transparent; if the public votes against the BJP, they should not attempt any manipulation. The Raj Bhavan must respect the people's choice without interference."
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Regarding the alliance with Congress, Abdullah said, "We formed this alliance to secure victory in an election held after a long gap. While it's premature to discuss potential support from parties like the PDP for governance, we haven't sought or received any support from them. Let’s wait for the results; we don't need their backing at this time. We will have discussions post-results."
Currently, the JKNC-Congress alliance has crossed the majority threshold according to the 10 a.m. updates from the Election Commission, with the JKNC leading in 39 seats, Congress in 8, BJP in 28, PDP in 3, and both JPC and CPI(M) along with independent candidates leading in 8 seats.