Results are now in in the last of India’s states to have had assembly elections this year: Jammu & Kashmir.
No party is close to a majority, with the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (NC) leading with 28 out of 86 seats (32.6%). Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party is second with 20. The next two largest parties are the two main national parties: the Indian National Congress (INC) has 17, and the Bharatiya Janata Party has 11.
The NC and INC together would have a majority, and it appears this will be the new J&K government.
The state had not had elections since 2002, when the INC won 20 of 91 seats (on 24.2% of the vote) and the NC (also know as the JKN) won 28 (on 28.2%) and the BJP 1, according to a report available at the Election Commission of India website. Thus, at least in terms of seats,1 there was not much change over the long six-year inter-electoral period. The BJP gained, but from an extremely low base, while the National Conference and the Congress Party barely changed their seat shares.
Jammu and Kashmir thus continues on the other recent state elections the trend of good results for the INC, which leads the federal ruling coalition, as federal elections approach.
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1. Aggregate votes totals for the most recent election will not be available for a while.
