Banihal Assembly Election Results 2024

Omar Abdullah said he won't be filling all nine vacancies in his cabinet as talks with Congress are currently ongoing.

The present and future of Kashmir matters more than the fortunes of political parties. That a free-and-fair election was held in Jammu and Kashmir and saw enthusiastic participation by the people is much more significant than the electoral outcome. This is why the process, and not its performance, should enthuse the BJP.

Omar Abdullah's relentless emotional campaign saw the National Conference (NC) win 42 seats and emerge as the biggest party in Jammu and Kashmir. Now, Omar is leaning towards the Modi-led Centre to run a smooth government. Can the reconciliatory tone also bridge a divide and forge ties?

The political landscape of Jammu and Kashmir has undergone a sea change, but one of the constants is Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami. The CPM veteran has kept the Communist flag flying in Kulgam since 1996. This time, Tarigami defeated a Jamaat-backed rival, who sought votes in the name of Islam, with his development pitch.

Out of the 43 Assembly seats in Jammu Division, the BJP won 29, emerging as the single largest party in the region. But Congress's individual performance hit an all-time-low with only one win.

Payare Lal Sharma, who turned rebel to the National Conference after being denied a ticket from the Inderwal Assembly seat, won the election as an independent candidate by a margin of 643 votes.

Despite the INDIA bloc securing a victory in the J&K Assembly polls, the National Conference did the heavy lifting and carried the alliance.

The Congress performed poorly in the Jammu region, which can be gauged from the fact that most of its senior leaders, including two working presidents, a former Pradesh Congress president and several ministers were humbled by their BJP rivals.

In Haryana, the BJP's performance this year has surpassed its 2014 breakthrough, when it first came to power on its own, and in Jammu and Kashmir, the Farooq Abdullah-led NC led the alliance to victory by winning 42 seats.