The wait for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir is now nearing an end. The Election Commission is to hold a press conference from 3 pm today in which the election schedule for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections is to be announced. Ever since the state reorganization and creation of a Union Territory in 2019, the political parties of Jammu and Kashmir have been demanding early assembly elections and restoration of full statehood. The Supreme Court had also directed the Election Commission to conduct the assembly elections of Jammu and Kashmir by September.
In these elections, which are going to be held for the first time after Ladakh was made a separate union territory, the people of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will elect their representatives for 90 assembly seats. Before 2019, Jammu and Kashmir used to be a full-fledged state and then votes were cast for 87 assembly seats. How have been the past election results of Jammu and Kashmir?
How were the results in the last elections?
Before the state reorganization, elections for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were last held in 2014. At that time, about 65 percent voting took place for 87 seats of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. Talking about the election results, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got the maximum 23 percent votes but the party was second after the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with 25 seats. PDP had then emerged as the largest party by winning 28 seats with 22.7 percent vote share but fell short of the magic figure of 44 required for majority.
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National Conference led by Dr. Farooq Abdullah won 15 seats with 20.8 percent vote share, Congress won 12 seats with 18 percent vote share. People’s Conference was successful in winning two seats with 1.9 percent vote share, CPIM was successful in winning one seat with less than 1 percent vote share. Then a PDF candidate also won and three independents were also successful in reaching the assembly. No single party got a clear majority. The two largest parties PDP and BJP came together and formed a coalition government. This alliance broke in the year 2018, after which Governor’s rule was imposed in the state.
Electoral past of Jammu and Kashmir
Maharaja Hari Singh had constituted the legislature in 1934 but no party was allowed to participate in the elections of Jammu and Kashmir. Legislative elections were held in 1951 and Sheikh Abdullah’s party won all the seats unopposed. In 1962, elections for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly were held for the first time and Sheikh Abdullah’s party won 70 seats under the leadership of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad. In the 1967 assembly elections, Congress came to power by winning 61 seats. National Conference could win only three seats then.
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In the 1972 Jammu and Kashmir elections, Congress won 58 seats, Bharatiya Jan Sangh won three seats and Jamaat-e-Islami won five seats. In the 1977 assembly elections, the National Conference came to power by winning 47 seats. The National Conference had also won the 1983 elections. In 1987, the National Conference emerged as the largest party. In the 1996 elections, the National Conference had won 57 seats. In the 2002 Jammu and Kashmir elections, the National Conference emerged as the largest party by winning 28 seats. In the 2008 elections too, no party got majority and the National Conference was the largest party by winning 28 seats.