The counting of votes for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections is underway.

As of 9.55 am, the Bharatiya Janata Party was leading in 23 constituencies in the Jammu region, according to the Election Commission.

The National Conference was ahead in 40 constituencies, mostly in the Kashmir Valley. Its ally, the Congress was leading in eight seats.

The Peoples Democratic Party was leading in three constituencies.

While the poll panel had not updated the early trends from most constituencies, several news reports said that the National Conference-Congress was ahead in several seats in Kashmir. The BJP was ahead in several seats of the Jammu region, the reports added.

The Legislative Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir has a strength of 119 members. While elections took place in 90 constituencies, 24 more seats are designated for areas that are in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The lieutenant governor has the power to appoint five members. Therefore, a party or an alliance needs 48 seats for a majority when the House has 95 members.

The Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir took place in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1. A voter turnout of 63.8% was recorded.

Most exit polls on Saturday projected the National Conference-Congress alliance to be ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Background

The Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir were the first in 10 years and since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019, which gave special status to the erstwhile state. The Centre had at the time also bifurcated the state into two Union territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

In December, the Supreme Court in its verdict on petitions challenging the Centre’s decision had set September 2024 as the deadline for the Election Commission to conduct elections for the Legislative Assembly that is being restored.

The court had also directed the Union government to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood “at the earliest and as soon as possible”.

Also read: Why new J&K government will be stunted – no matter who wins

While a key issue in the election was the discontent about the high rate of unemployment and other governance problems, the polls in the Valley were being contested on identity and special status.

Local regional parties such as the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party have promised to fight for the restoration of special status and protecting Jammu and Kashmir’s identity. While the Congress has promised statehood to Jammu and Kashmir if it comes to power at the Centre, it has not said anything on bringing back Article 370.

On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party has said that Article 370 is “history now”. The Hindutva party is trying to woo voters on a host of developmental and welfarist measures.

Several separatist leaders and members of the banned socio-religious outfit Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir have decided to jump into electoral politics, marking a significant turnaround in the region’s political landscape.

The Jamaat-e-Islami members have agreed on a strategic alliance with Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid’s Awami Ittehad Party on 35 seats in the Valley.

Also read: The BJP’s impossible task in Kashmir Valley

In 2014, the People’s Democratic Party won 28 seats of the 87 elected seats in the Assembly, followed by the BJP’s 25. The National Conference had won 15 seats and the Congress clinched 12. The People’s Democratic Party and the BJP had formed a post-poll coalition, making Mufti Mohammed Sayeed the chief minister.

After Sayeed’s death in 2016, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti succeeded him. However, the BJP withdrew support in June 2018, leading to the collapse of the government. This was followed by the governor’s rule and the president’s rule until the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

The administration of the Union territory, with no Assembly in place, has been managed by the lieutenant governor since 2019.

In the recent general election, the BJP won both Lok Sabha seats in the Jammu region and the INDIA bloc won two of the three constituencies in the Kashmir region. An Independent candidate won the remaining one seat.