Jammu Kashmir election results: Congress-National Conference alliance wins

Online desk:  The Congress-National Conference alliance has crossed the halfway mark and secured 49 seats out of 90, winning the Assembly elections and is set to form the government.

Of these, 42 seats belong to the National Conference, 6 to the Indian National Congress and one to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPI (M).

National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah said his son Omar will be the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir after the party and its ally Congress crossed the halfway mark in the election results on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media, Farooq Abdullah said, “People have given their mandate. They have proven that they don’t accept the decision that was taken on August 5 (abrogation of Article 370). Omar Abdullah will be the chief minister.”

The assembly elections for its 90 constituencies were held in three phases – September 18, September 25, and October 1 – after a gap of 10 years. This is also the first time Jammu and Kashmir had assembly elections since Article 370 was abolished in August 2019, which divided the former state into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

The three-phase elections resulted in voter participation of 63.88%, as per the Election Commission of India.

The counting of votes began on Tuesday at 8:00am, with heavy security arrangements in place.