The Congress-National Conference alliance has crossed the halfway mark, winning 49 out of 90 seats in the Assembly elections and is poised to form the government. Of these, the JKNC has won 42 seats, the Indian National Congress has 6, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) holds 1 seat.
However, among these 49 seats, the alliance has won various closely contested constituencies, helping them to cross the majority mark of 46. With margins often under a thousand votes, these battleground seats witnessed the razor-thin divides in voter sentiment.
Here are some assembly segments in J&K that helped the alliance to cross the majority mark:
Pattan: JKNC
In Pattan, the contest was very close, with Javaid Riyaz of the JKNC winning by a mere 603 votes over Imran Raza Ansari of the Jammu & Kashmir People Conference. Riyaz got 29,893 votes, while Ansari received 29,290.
Winning Candidate: Javaid Riyaz, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference: 29,893
Losing Candidate: Imran Raza Ansari, Jammu & Kashmir People Conference: 29,290
Margin: 603
Devsar: JKNC
Devsar saw another tightly contested race, where Peerzada Feroze Ahamad from the JKNC won over Mohammad Sartaj Madni of the Peoples Democratic Party by a margin of 840 votes. Ahamad secured 18,230 votes against Madni’s 17,390.
Winning Candidate: Peerzada Feroze Ahamad, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference: 18,230
Losing Candidate: Mohammad Sartaj Madni, Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party: 17,390
Margin: 840
Gurez (ST): JKNC
The Gurez constituency, reserved for Scheduled Tribes, witnessed Nazir Ahmad Khan of the JKNC winning against Faqueer Mohammad Khan of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Khan won by 1,132 votes, with a total of 8,378 compared to his opponent’s 7,246.
Winning Candidate: Nazir Ahmad Khan, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference: 8,378
Losing Candidate: Faqueer Mohammad Khan, Bharatiya Janata Party: 7,246
Margin: 1,132
Anantnag: Congress
In Anantnag, the coalition’s INC candidate Peerzada Mohammad Syed defeated Mehboob Beg of the Peoples Democratic Party by a margin of 1,686 votes. Syed got a total of 6,679 votes against Beg’s 4,993.
Winning Candidate: Peerzada Mohammad Syed, Indian National Congress: 6,679
Losing Candidate: Mehboob Beg, Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party: 4,993
Margin: 1,686
Bandipora: Congress
In Bandipora, Nizam Uddin Bhat of the INC edged out independent candidate Usman Abdul Majid by just 811 votes, getting 20,391 to Majid’s 19,580.
Winning Candidate: Nizam Uddin Bhat, Indian National Congress: 20,391
Losing Candidate: Usman Abdul Majid, Independent: 19,580
Margin: 811
The assembly elections for the 90 constituencies were conducted in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, marking the first such elections in a decade. This is also the first time Jammu and Kashmir has held assembly elections since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, which resulted in the division of the former state into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
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