Historic hat-trick for BJP in Haryana

New Delhi: Bucking exit poll predictions and pollsters in the first elections after the June Lok Sabha verdict, the results threw up a mixed bag for the BJP, sobering lessons for the Congress but clear-cut unambiguous victory for the NC, which led the alliance to power in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a historic third consecutive term in Haryana, having won 48 seats in the Assembly elections, while the Congress follows with 37 seats. In Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference-Congress alliance is on track to form the government, having emerged victorious with a total of 49 seats in the polls. The BJP won 29 seats. The majority mark in both the Assemblies in 46 seats.

The counting of votes for the two Assembly elections began at 8 am on Tuesday.

The 90 seats in Haryana voted in one phase on October 5 recording a turnout of about 68 per cent. Jammu and Kashmir voted in three phases – September 18, 25, and October 1 – for its 90 seats, marking a voter turnout of 63.88 per cent. The turnout was an increase from the 58.58 per cent in the Lok Sabha elections.

In 2014 and 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Haryana Assembly elections. The saffron party aimed for a hat-trick of electoral victories in the 2024 elections. The Congress party hoped to make a comeback after spending a decade in Opposition in the state.

Alongside the BJP and Congress, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) were also in the fray.

For Jammu and Kashmir, it was the first Assembly elections in 10 years. This was also the first Assembly election in the UT after the abrogation of special status under Article 370 in August 2019.

In the 2014 Assembly elections, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP formed a rare coalition government with the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. However, the government did not last long, as the BJP withdrew from the alliance in 2018. Jammu and Kashmir has been under central rule since then. The Union Territory may now be on course to have its first elected government since 2018.

The National Conference (NC) and the Congress contested J&K assembly elections 2024 as part of an alliance. The BJP, the PDP, some regional parties and independents are main players.