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The recent assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have witnessed a significant political shift, with the INDIA bloc emerging victorious and securing the formation of the first elected government since the abrogation of Article 370 five years ago. The National Conference (NC), the oldest political party in J&K, emerged as the leading force, winning 42 out of the 90 assembly seats, narrowly missing an outright majority by just six seats. This victory marks a significant comeback for the NC after its previous performance in the 2014 elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, also made substantial gains, securing 29 seats, its best performance in the region to date, representing an increase from the 25 seats it won in the 2014 elections.
While the BJP's vote share rose from 23% in 2014 to 25.64% in the recent elections, their president, Ravindra Raina, faced defeat in the Nowshera constituency. The NC's vice president, Omar Abdullah, who has been declared the next chief minister by his father and NC patron, Farooq Abdullah, secured the Budgam assembly seat by a significant margin exceeding 18,000 votes, defeating the People's Democratic Party (PDP)'s candidate, Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi. Abdullah also secured victory in the NC's stronghold of Ganderbal, defeating the PDP's Bashir Ahmad Mir by more than 10,000 votes.
The highest victory margin in the elections was achieved by the BJP candidate, Devender Rana, who won the Nagrota seat by a substantial margin of 30,472 votes. Rana, who previously won the same seat in 2014 as an NC candidate, successfully defended his position against the NC's Joginder Singh, who secured 17,641 votes. Additionally, five other BJP candidates achieved victory margins exceeding 20,000 votes, highlighting the party's strong performance in the region. The NC, despite emerging as the largest party, had only two candidates, Irshad Rasool Kar and Aijaz Ahmad Jan, who won with margins exceeding 20,000 votes.
On the other hand, the lowest victory margin was witnessed in the Tral assembly seat where the PDP's Rafiq Ahmad Naik secured a narrow win by just 460 votes in a multi-cornered contest. The BJP's Shagun Parihar in Kishtwar also secured victory with a slightly higher margin of 521 votes against the NC's Sajad Kitchloo. Several candidates, including Sajad Gani Lone of the People's Conference, won their seats with margins under 1,000 votes. These close contests highlight the competitive nature of the elections and the close margins that determined the outcomes in certain constituencies.
Source: Jammu and Kashmir election results: Who won with the highest and lowest margins?