JK Assembly Elections Results 2024 highlights: Counting complete, NC tops with 42 seats

"These elections in Jammu and Kashmir have been very special. They were held for the first time after the removal of Articles 370 and 35(A) and witnessed a high turnout, thus showing the people’s belief in democracy," said PM Modi reflecting on the poll result. 

"I compliment each and every person of Jammu and Kashmir for this. I am proud of the BJP’s performance in Jammu and Kashmir. I thank all those who have voted for our Party and placed their trust in us. I assure the people that we will keep working for the welfare of Jammu and Kashmir. I also appreciate the industrious efforts of our Karyakartas," he added. 

"I would like to compliment JKNC for their commendable performance in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections."

Mehraj din Malik from the Doda seat scripted history by becoming the first AAP candidate to win an assembly election in the UT. 

“You fought a very good election. Congratulations to the entire Aam Aadmi Party on getting an MLA in the fifth state,” Mr Kejriwal posted on X on Tuesday afternoon.

"We thank the people for voting and supporting the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP has achieved an all-time high with a record number of 29 assembly seats. We express our heartfelt gratitude to the electorate,” said BJP Jammu and Kashmir chief Ravinder Raina, who lost to National Conference candidate Surinder Choudhary on the Nowshera seat. 

Sheikh Ahsan Ahmed of NC from the Lal Chowk assembly seat.

"I am very happy. People have again proved that NC is the only party that can be trusted. BJP has only tried to weaken the National Conference but the people have given them a loud and clear message that they still believe in the NC," said Ahmed after the poll results. 

 MY Tarigami wins Kulgam seat in south Kashmir for fifth consecutive time.

"We have once again got the opportunity to serve the people of Kashmir. In the past five years, several attempts have been made to finish JKNC, but with god's grace, those who came to finish us have themselves been wiped out," said Omar Abdullah after winning the election. 

NC patron Farooq Abdullah announced on Tuesday that his son Omar will be the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. 

BJP leader Kavinder Gupta said on Tuesday that his party would achieve its target of winning 35 seats in Jammu and Kashmir. 

"BJP is not far behind...we had told that we will win 35 seats and we are reaching nearby. towards the last round, we will achieve our target...," Gupta told the news agency ANI.

First results of the elections are out. The BJP has won five seats- Udhampur East, Chenani, Billawar, Basholi, and Jammu West.

The National Conference (NC), meanwhile, has won three seats- Gurez (ST), Hazratbal, and Zadibal. 

The National Conference-Congress alliance is likely to form government in Jammu and Kashmir with poll trends on Tuesday showing the combine ahead in 51 of the 90 seats while the BJP was leading in 28.

BJP's Darshan Kumar defeats Cong's Choudhary Lal Singh from Basholi in Jammu's Kathua district.

NC leader Nazir Ahmad Khan wins Gurez (ST) seat in J-K by defeating BJP's Faqeer Mohammad Khan by a margin of 1,132 votes.

PDP’s Iltija Mufti, candidate from Srigufwara-Bijbehara seat, accepted defeat on Tuesday.  She was trailing by more than 3,000 votes against National Conference candidate Bashir Ahmad Shah (Veeri) following three rounds of vote counting.

With early trends of Election Commission on Tuesday indicating a lead for the National Conference-Congress alliance in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress leader Syed Suhail Bukhari said people have decided to oust BJP from the region and emphaised that the INDIA alliance will form a government with huge margin.

"We had already told that the way a huge number of people voted, they had decided to oust BJP from here...in an indirect rule, an L-G was imposed on people and they were kept deprived of their basic rights. The election is happening after 10 years...people were angry...INDIA alliance will form govt in J&K with a huge margin," Bukhari said.

National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah on Tuesday warned the BJP not to "pull off any tricks" if the mandate of the people is against them.

He also exuded confidence in the win of the NC-Congress alliance in the election.

With the counting of votes underway, Congress leader and party candidate from Dooru constituency, Ghulam Ahmad Mir exuded confidence in the party's victory in Haryana and Jammu Kashmir assembly elections and said that the National Conference and Congress alliance will cross the magic figure of 50.

Here are the trends reflecting on the Election Commission of India's website as of 10:30 am IST.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah is leading on both Budgam and Ganderbal seats, while Iltija Mufti of the PDP is trailing from Srigufwara-Biejbehara seat, according to initial trends.

People's Conference president Sajad Lone, who is also contesting from two seats, is leading in Handwara seat by a slender margin of 390 votes, while trailing in Kupwara segment, according to Election Commission trends for Jammu and Kashmir.

As the vote tallying for the Haryana and Jammu Kashmir Assembly Elections takes place, Congress workers have been spotted handing out jalebis and laddoos outside the Congress office.

Party wise trends show at 9:50 am IST, with preliminary status of 88 of 90 constituencies outed by the ECI shows the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKN) in the lead in 40 constituencies. Meanwhile, BJP has the lead in 23, INC in 8 constituencies.

To win the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024, a political party or alliance will have to win the absolute majority of 46 seats — out of 90. 

As of 9:30 am, Jammu and Kashmir's former chief minister Omar Abdullah has the lead in Ganderbal and Budgam.  

As of 9:20 am IST, the Congress-NC alliance is in lead, with the National Conference ahead in 30 constituencies and the INC in 6.

Early trends at 9:15am IST, with a preliminary status of 57 of 90 constituencies outed by the ECI, shows the Congress-NC alliance in lead (National Conference-25 and INC-6). BJP is trailing with the lead in 18 constituencies.

Early trends at 9:05 am IST, with a preliminary status of some of 90 constituencies outed by the ECI, shows the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKN) in the lead in 21 constituencies. Meanwhile, BJP has the lead in 17, INC in 4, Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP) in 2 and an Independent candidate in one constituency.

Early trends at 9:05 am IST show Independent candidate Satish Sharma leading in Chhamb — with a margin of 206 votes — with the BJP trailing.

Early trends at 9am IST show BJP candidate Rajeev Kumar leading in Bishnah — with a margin of 766 votes — with the Indian National Congress trailing.

Early trends at 9am IST show BJP candidate Mohan Lal leading in Akhnoor — with a margin of 1796 votes — with the Indian National Congress trailing.

According to the Election Commission of India data, at 8:55 am IST, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading in five constituencies, while the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference had the lead in three constituencies. Meanwhile, 'Independent' was leading in one of the 90 constituencies.

As of now, according to the initial trends, the Congress-NC alliance is in the lead in 10 seats out of the 90 constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir. Currently, the counting of postal ballots is underway.

Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Dr Bilal Mohi-ud-Din Bhat speaking on the preparations made for the counting day said, "The counting hall in the assembly segment is set, with the tables and the required staff. Depending on the polling stations we have 9-13 tables. There is a counting supervisor, assistant and a micro observer at a table who look upon the whole process."

"There is an RO and an election counting observer under the ECI guidelines. All other arrangements like the cctv, planning of the staff, all has been done. The entire process of counting is done in a very transparent manner. More than 900 counting agents have been appointed for this entire process. This shows how the ECI brings transparent, fair and free process to this system," said Bhat.

Amid speculation over possible permutations and combinations for government formation in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday express hope for a positive outcome.

"Here’s wishing all my colleagues and allies the very best of luck for today. We fought the good fight & now, InshaAllah, the results will reflect that," he said.

According to the Election Commission of India, an overall 63.88 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The poll panel said that a voter turn of 69.69 percent was recorded in the third phase held on October 1.

Amid tight security, vote counting has begun. During the counting process, only authorised individuals, officials, or staff will be permitted inside and around the counting centres.

Talking to the press, BJP candidate from Akhnoor Assembly seat, Mohan Lal Bhagat expressed confidence that "BJP will emerge as the single largest party in Jammu and Kashmir."

According to exit polls, the National Conference-Congress alliance is projected to have an advantage in Jammu and Kashmir.

Ahead of the vote count in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP leader Sajid Yousuf Shah has expressed hope and high expectations from the people in the valley.

In an interview with ANI, he claimed that the opposition parties are only willing to come together for power, otherwise they continue to stand against each other.

"We have high expectations from the people of Jammu and especially, Kashmir, so that BJP opens its tally in the Union Territory. Even after Farooq Abdullah created the Gupkar alliance, we see that all statements made by Mehbooba Mufti and her daughter were against NC. They need to clarify if they are together just for the sake of forming the government," said the BJP leader.

In Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Electoral Officer PK Pole said CCTVs have been set up in each counting hall for record creation. He revealed that counting will start at 7:30 am IST.

"Counting will begin at 7:30 am for postal ballots and 8 am for EVMs… Polls were held peacefully and no candidate or political party faced any kind of difficulty. Violence-free public participation was witnessed," he told ANI.

"Postal ballots will be counted first, after which EVM counting will begin. In every district headquarters, counting centres have been set up… Counting of territorial polling stations will be done in 25 locations and counting of migrant polling stations will be done in 3 locations… All arrangements have been made. Candidates have also given information about their counting agents… EVMs are kept in a triple layer security. The outermost layer consists of police, the middle layer is guarded by the CAPF, and the inner layer consists of a dedicated section which mans the counting centre round the clock."

In J&K, as per the election commission of India, a total of 486 candidates filed nomination papers till September 12 (last day of nomination). Of these, the nomination papers of 449 candidates were found to be valid. 34 candidates withdrew from the race, leaving 415 candidates in the final election fray for phase 3.

Overall, a total of 873 candidates are now in the fray for the 90 assembly constituencies. This includes 219 candidates for 24 seats in Phase 1, 239 candidates for 26 seats in Phase 2, and 415 candidates for the final 40 seats in Phase 3, according to officials.

The J-K assembly elections for 90 constituencies were held over three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1, respectively.

These are the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories — Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. The last assembly election was held in 2014.