Srinagar: National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah won the party's bastion of Ganderbal in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election on Tuesday by defeating PDP's Bashir Ahmad Mir with over 10,000 votes. Abdullah has also won the Budgam seat by a margin of over 18,000 votes. In Ganderbal, Abdullah secured 32,727 votes, winning by a margin of 10,574 against his nearest rival, Mir, who polled 22,153 votes.
The NC leader had won the Ganderbal seat in 2008 as well and went on to become the chief minister of the erstwhile state of J-K. Former MLA from Ganderbal Ishfaq Jabbar was a distant third with 6,060 votes.
Meanwhile, the National Conference-Congress combine was set to form government in Jammu and Kashmir, voters in both places giving the victors a decisive edge as counting day progressed with many a surprise on Tuesday.
Bucking exit poll predictions and pollsters in the first elections after the June Lok Sabha verdict, the results threw up a mixed bag for the BJP, sobering lessons for the Congress but clear-cut unambiguous victory for the NC, which led the alliance to power in Jammu and Kashmir.
28 counting centres have been set up across 20 districts for the 90 constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Assembly elections were held across its 90 constituencies in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, marking the region's first polls in a decade. These elections are the first since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, bifurcating the former state with special status into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Statehood and unemployment have been major poll issues in Jammu and Kashmir during the campaign.
Exit polls
Exit polls released on Saturday indicate that the NC-Congress alliance holds the lead, with the regional party expected to secure most seats.
The BJP is predicted to slightly increase its tally from the 25 seats it won in the 2014 assembly elections, while the PDP, which won 28 seats a decade ago, is projected to win fewer than 10 seats this time.
Predictions suggest that pollsters have given emerging parties such as the People's Conference, Apni Party, Ghulam Nabi Azad's Democratic Azad Party, and Sheikh Abdul Rashid's Awami Ittehad Party little chance. Together with independents, these parties are expected to secure around 10 seats.
Prominent candidates
Among the prominent candidates are National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah, who is competing in the Budgam and Ganderbal segments; Sajad Gani Lone from the People's Conference, who is contesting in Handwara and Kupwara; Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hamid Karra, who is running for the Batamaloo seat; and BJP state president Ravindra Raina, who is contesting from Nowshera.
Other notable contenders include AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir (Dooru), PDP leaders Waheed Para (Pulwama), Iltija Mufti (Bijbehara), Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari (Chanapora), CPM veteran Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami (Kulgam), and former deputy chief ministers Muzaffar Hussain Baig and Tara Chand.
Arrangements in place
Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a voter turnout of 64 per cent this time, with political parties fielding candidates across all 90 seats and a record number of independent candidates also contesting. The fate of 873 candidates contesting in the 90-member assembly will be revealed by Tuesday evening.
Two counting centres have been set up in Kupwara, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur, and Reasi districts, while one centre has been allocated to each of the remaining districts. Additionally, three centres have been designated for migrant voters. ECI-appointed observers will oversee the process at all locations.