New Delhi:

Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, which was hoping to find a toehold in Haryana — the next logical choice after ruling Delhi and Punjab — could fail to open its account in the state, exit polls have indicated. Exit polls, though, can often get it wrong. 

AAP had contested on 89 of Haryana’s 90 seats. But its campaigning was hamstrung due to the absence of its key leaders including Arvind Kejriwal for the most part. Mr Kejriwal and his close aide Manish Sisodia, arrested in connection with the Delhi liquor case, got bail just ahead of the election. 

AAP, though, had not been able to open account in Haryana in 2029 as well. But the party was hoping for a better performance after registering its presence in six states and winning the “National Party” tag. 

Haryana, where elections were held today, have registered a 64-plus per cent turnout. Exit polls have predicted a Congress victory, giving the BJP no more than 32 seats. An aggregate of four exit polls indicate that the Congress will win 55 of Haryana’s 90 seats – comfortably ahead of the halfway mark of 45. The BJP could end up with 24 seats in Haryana, the math indicates.

With the stage set for the first phase of the J&K Legislative Assembly scheduled for September 18, the fate of 219 candidates will be determined by over 23.27 lakh voters.

The first phase of the Legislative Assembly Elections 2024 will cover 24 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) across seven districts of Jammu & Kashmir. These include Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, and Kulgam in the Kashmir Division and Doda, Ramban, and Kishtwar in the Jammu Division.

In the Kashmir Division, 16 ACs are up for election: Pampore, Tral, Pulwama, Rajpora, Zainapora, Shopian, DH Pora, Kulgam, Devsar, Dooru, Kokernag (ST), Anantnag West, Anantnag, Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Shangus-Anantnag East, and Pahalgam.

In the Jammu Division, 8 ACs – Inderwal, Kishtwar, Padder-Nagseni, Bhadarwah, Doda, Doda West, Ramban, and Banihal – will also go to the polls. According to the latest electoral rolls, 23,27,580 lakh voters are eligible to cast their ballots in this phase, comprising 11,76,462 lakh male voters, 11,51,058 lakh female voters, and 60 third-gender voters.

Underlining the significance of the role to be played by the youth of Jammu and Kashmir in strengthening democracy, as many as 5.66 lakh youths are eligible to vote in phase 1 of the Assembly Election. Youth voters are a significant demographic, with 5.66 lakh eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 29, including 1,23,960 lakh voters aged 18 to 19. Among these, 10,261 are male and 9,329 are female first-time voters.

This phase will also see participation from 28,309 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and 15,774 voters above the age of 85. With this, 64 candidates are fray in Anantnag district, followed by 45 in Pulwama district, 27 in Doda district, 25 in Kulgam district, 22 in Kishtwar district, 21 in Shopian district, while 15 are contesting in Ramban district.

In Kishtwar district, 9 candidates are fray in 48-Inderwal AC; 7 candidates in 49-Kishtwar AC; while 6 are contesting in 50-Padder-Nagseni AC. In Doda district, 10 candidates are in fray 51-Bhadarwah AC; 9 candidates in 52-Doda AC; and 8 candidates are contesting in 53-Doda West AC.

In Ramban district, 8 candidates are contesting in 54-Ramban AC; while 7 candidates will contest in 55-Banihal AC.

Similarly, in the Pulwama district, 14 candidates are fray in 32-Pampore AC; 9 candidates in 33-Tral AC; 12 candidates in 34-Pulwama AC; and 10 candidates are contesting in 35-Rajpora AC.

In the Shopian district, 10 candidates are fray in 36-Zainapora AC and 11 candidates are contesting in 37-Shopian AC. In Kulgam district, 6 candidates are fray in 38-DH Pora AC; 10 candidates in 39-Kulgam AC; and 9 candidates are contesting in 40-Devsar AC. Finally, in Anantnag district, 10 candidates are fray in 41-Dooru AC; 10 candidates in 42-Kokernag (ST) AC; 9 candidates in 43-Anantnag West AC; 13 candidates in 44-Anantnag AC; 3 candidates in 45-Srigufwara-Bijbehara AC; 13 candidates in 46-Shangus-Anantnag East AC; and 6 candidates are contesting in 47-Pahalgam AC.

The Doda district has recorded a total of 3,10,613 registered voters, including 1,60,057 males, 1,50,521 females, and 8 transgender across three Assembly constituencies. A total of 534 polling stations are spread across these constituencies, ensuring that every registered voter has the opportunity to participate in the democratic process.

The Anantnag district comprises seven Assembly Constituencies with 6,67,843 electorates which include 3,36,200 males, 3,31,639 females, and 4 transgender voters. A comprehensive network of 844 polling stations has been established across the district.

The Ramban District has registered a total of 2,24,214 voters across its two Assembly constituencies, including 1,16,019 male voters, 1,08,193 female voters, and 1 transgender voter.

A total of 365 polling stations are spread across the two Assembly constituencies, ensuring that every registered voter has the opportunity to participate in the democratic process. Shopian District is divided into two Assembly constituencies, with a total of 2,09,062 registered voters, including 1,04,894 males, 1,04,161 females, and 7 transgender voters.

To facilitate the voting process, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has established 251 polling stations across both constituencies. The Pulwama district has registered a total of 4,07,637 voters, including 2,02,475 males, 2,05,141 females, and 21 transgender across its four Assembly constituencies. ECI has established 481 polling stations throughout the district.

The Kulgam district comprises three Assembly constituencies, with 3,28,782 registered voters, including 1,64,852 male, 1,63,917 female and 13 transgender voters.

A comprehensive network of 372 polling stations has been established by the ECI for free, fair and transparent elections. The Kishtwar district, with three Assembly Segments, a total of 1,79,374 electors, including 91,935 male and 87,435 female, and 4 transgender voters are poised to exercise their right to franchise. To facilitate the voting process, the ECI has established 429 polling stations across the District.

To facilitate the voters for smooth and hassle-free electoral participation, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has established 3276 polling stations with 100 per cent webcasting across 24 Assembly Constituencies. These include 302 Urban Polling Stations and 2974 Rural Polling Stations.

To enhance voter participation, there will be 24 polling booths managed by women, known as Pink Polling Stations, 24 polling stations manned by specially-abled persons and 24 polling stations manned by youths. Also, there will be 24 green polling stations in order to spread messages about environmental concerns and 17 Unique Polling stations. The voting starts at 7 am and ends at 6 pm today.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

Jammu and Kashmir suffered because Delhi never trusted the people of Kashmir, former Chief Minister and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah told NDTV in an exclusive interview days ahead of the key polls in the Union Territory.

This would be the first election in Jammu and Kashmir after the Centre revoked its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories.

Mr Abdullah has watched the political developments in Kashmir for over seven decades now. His father Sheikh Abdullah was Jammu and Kashmir’s first Prime Minister before he was arrested in August 1953. Over the years, Farooq Abdullah handled the job before his son Omar Abdullah took over. Asked how he sums up all he has watched over the years, the 87-year-old veteran replied, “Delhi has never trusted whoever is in power here, they have always tried to dominate, not thinking of the aspirations of the people, but aspirations of the leaders in Delhi. That’s what the state has suffered.

Mr Abdullah blamed people who “spread misunderstandings for their good” for this trust deficit. Recalling what his father told him when he was elected an MP In 1980, he said, “When I went to Parliament in 80′, my father said, ‘Don’t join politics’. I said, ‘I need to go to Delhi because everything is done in Delhi, all conspiracies are manufactured in Delhi and there should be somebody who can tell you what is coming around’.”

Mr Abdullah was 10 when Pakistani tribals raided Kashmir in October 1947. As Maharaja Hari Singh’s forces collapsed, he fled from the Valley. It was the time when Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah rose to the occasion and called for a fight to defend against Pakistani raiders. Hundreds of Razakaras or volunteers of Sheikh Abdullah stood against Pakistani till the time Indian Army arrived in Kashmir on October 27, 1947. Several National Conference workers like Maqbool Sherwani were killed by the Pakistani raiders for helping the Army.

“When the Indian Army arrived, Pakistani raiders were surrounding Srinagar and would have taken over Srinagar. It was the 1st Sikh regiment, I hid behind my father and asked who they were. He said it was the Indian Army. And who guided them, the people did.” Mr Abdullah regretted that “despite these sacrifices by the people of Kashmir, Delhi never trusted them”.

On handing over the baton to his son Omar Abdullah, who became Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister in 2009, the senior Abdullah said, “The time had come when we had to have younger people. This state needs a younger man, it is mountainous, so difficult to get to some places, that was a good change I made.” He also recalled a conversation with Akali Dal leader, late Parkash Singh Badal, in this connection. “I remember Badal saab’s son was made Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, and a huge gathering was held in Amritsar. Badal Saab told me, ‘You gave everything to Omar, what will u do.’ I said, if he makes a mistake now, I am alive. I can correct him, it was not my luck, but If my father had lived longer, under his guidance I would have probably not made some mistakes that I have made.”

To a question on the Gupkar alliance formed in the aftermath of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, Mr Abdullah said the bloc was formed to fight forces of division. “Gradually people dropped out, old differences did not die,” he said, describing the falling apart of the alliance as “unfortunate”.

The seasoned politician accused the BJP of dividing the country. “Hindu-Muslim divide, Sikh divide, Christian divide, that is what hurts me, This is not the India I knew,” he said.

Referring to the tie-up between the PDP and the BJP after the 2014 state polls, he said the National Conference begged the late Mufti Mohammed Sayeed — PDP leader and father of Mehbooba Mufti — to not join hands with the BJP.

“Omar went, Congress went, told him (Sayeed) that we would give total support, but don’t join hands with BJP,” he said. Mr Abdullah said the National Conference also extended support to Mehbooba Mufti when the BJP ended the alliance, “but time was lost”.

On the subject of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits during the 90s, Mr Abdullah blamed then Governor, late Jagmohan. “I had told Prime Minister VP Singh to send any governor but not him,” he said.

Asked if he still expects Jammu and Kashmir to get its statehood back, Mr Abdullah said, ” There is hope that statehood will return, UT (status) will go, if not, the state will remain in turmoil, they will never win the hearts of people.”

Jammu/New Delhi:

The BJP on Sunday released a fresh list of 10 candidates for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, replacing ex-deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta with former member of legislative council (MLC) Vikram Randhawa from Bahu seat of Jammu district.

Mr Gupta was elected from Gandhi Nagar, renamed as the Bahu assembly segment, in the 2014 elections.

With the release of the sixth list for the third phase of elections, the BJP has so far named 62 candidates, including 20 for the Kashmir Valley, where the BJP is yet to open its account in assembly elections.

Mr Randhawa found himself embroiled in controversies on three occasions between 2019 and 2021, leading to filing of two FIRs against him at separate police stations in Ladakh and Jammu and also forcing him to tender an unconditional public apology to Union minister Jitendra Singh for levelling baseless allegations of corruption against him.

The BJP’s fresh list of candidates also included former MLA RS Pathania who was fielded from Udhampur East and former bureaucrat Bharat Bhushan from Kathua, doctor-turned politician Rajeev Bhagat from Bishnah and Surinder Bhagat from Marh – the three seats reserved for Scheduled Caste community.

Both Kathua and Marh had been won by BJP’s Rajiv Jasrotia and Sukh Nandan Kumar in 2014 assembly elections.

Mr Bhushan, posted as director, social welfare, Jammu, took voluntary retirement on September 7.

In Kashmir valley, the BJP fielded Mohd Idrees Karnahi from Karnah, Ghulam Mohammad Mir (Handwara), Abdul Rashid Khan (Sonawari), Naseer Ahmad Lone (Bandipora) and Faqir Mohammad Khan (Gurez-Scheduled Tribe reserved seat).

In May 2019, an FIR was registered against Mr Randhawa, the then BJP’s Ladakh in-charge, for allegedly trying to bribe journalists in Leh. Two years later, he had to submit an unconditional public apology to party colleague and Union minister for levelling false allegations of corruption against him, a day before hearing of a defamation suit filed by Singh against him in a Delhi court.

In November 2021, the J&K BJP unit removed Randhawa from the post of secretary over his derogatory remarks against Kashmiri Muslims.

The Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, having 90 assembly constituencies, will go to polls in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced its first list of seven candidates for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections on Sunday.

The party has fielded Fayaz Ahmed Sofi from Pulwama, Muddasir Hassan from Rajpora, and Sheikh Fida Hussain from Devsar. Mohsin Shafkat Mir has been selected for Dooru, Mehraj Din Malik for Doda, Yasir Shafi Matto for Doda West, and Musassir Azmat Mir for Banihal.

This will be the first time AAP contests the assembly polls in the state, scheduled to be held in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1.

Meanwhile, Ghulam Nabi Azad’s Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) also announced its first list of 13 candidates.

“Announcing our 1st list of candidates for the assembly elections. Our best wishes to them as they prepare to serve and represent our people!” read a post from DPAP.

The Congress has allied with Farooq Abdullah’s National Conference for the assembly polls.

The pre-poll alliance was announced soon after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge met NC chief Farooq Abdullah. After the meeting, Farooq Abdullah stated that the Congress-NC alliance would contest all 90 seats in the assembly polls.

The formal announcement of the tie-up was made by NC patron Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar. “United we stand,” JKNC posted on X. The announcement was made after Farooq Abdullah and his son, Omar, met Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.

The Election Commission has issued a notification for the first phase of assembly seats, covering 24 constituencies. This will be the first assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Srinagar:

The BJP today released a list of 82 candidates for the three-phase election to 90 Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir will vote in three phases on September 19, 25 and October 1. Votes will be counted on October 4. This is the first Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir after the erstwhile state lost its special status in 2019 and was bifurcated into two Union Territories.

The list was released this morning after the BJP’s Central Election Committee finalised the party’s poll picks for the upcoming election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda were at the key meeting in Delhi yesterday.

The last Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir was held in 2014. In the 2014 election, the BJP had put up a stellar show by winning 25 seats. The PDP had emerged as the single largest party with 28 wins. The incumbent National Conference won 15 seats and the Congress bagged 12. Following the election, the BJP and the PDP forged a surprise alliance government, led by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and then by Mehbooba Mufti after the former’s death in 2016.

This time, Jammu and Kashmir is headed for a tripartite contest between the BJP, the PDP and the National Conference-Congress alliance. The Congress and National Conference, however, are yet to iron out differences in seat-sharing. Top Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Salman Khurshid have been rushed to Srinagar to clear the roadblocks in the negotiations between National Conference and the local Congress leadership.

Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah and announced their alliance.

Scoffing at the tie-up, BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh, who is in charge of the party’s Jammu and Kashmir campaign, said the Congress-National Conference alliance will collapse like a house of cards and will face a humiliating defeat.

In some of the key Kashmir seats, the BJP’s candidates are Er Syed Showkat Gayoor Andrabi (Pampore), Arshid Bhat (Rajpora), Javed Ahmad Qadri (Shopian) and Mohd Rafiq Wani (Anantnag West). Others include Syed Wazahat from Anantnag, Sofi Yousuf from Srigufwara-Bijbehara, Veer Saraf from Shangus-Anantnag East and Tariq Keen from Inderwal.

Srinagar:

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir to take stock of the party’s preparations for the upcoming assembly polls in the Union Territory and explore a likely alliance with the National Conference.

The Congress leaders received a rousing welcome upon their arrival here with party activists and supporters lining up outside the airport. The enthusiastic supporters even stopped Gandhi’s vehicle on the airport road, causing some anxious moments for the security personnel escorting him.

The two leaders are visiting the UT for key meetings in connection with the three-phased assembly elections beginning September 18, a senior Congress leader said.

There were no official meetings scheduled for the two leaders for Wednesday, he said.

The two leaders will engage in extensive discussions with party leaders and workers of 10 districts of the Kashmir valley on Thursday. The meetings will begin at 10 am after which the two are likely to interact with the media here.

They are also likely to meet National Conference (NC) leadership to discuss a possible pre-poll alliance, party sources said.

However, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Karra said the visit of the two leaders was planned well before the election schedule was announced. “This visit has no relation to (discussions on) the alliance.” After wrapping up interactions here, Mr Gandhi and Mr Kharge will fly to Jammu to continue their interactions with the cadres of 10 districts in the Jammu region.

The two leaders will take feedback from party workers about the grassroots-level preparations for the elections which are being held in the UT after a gap of ten years, a Congress leader said.

“This programme was decided even before the declaration of the election (dates) and only dates were to be finalised. This programme by Rahul ji and party president is to interact with the party workers so they are here,” Karra told reporters outside Hotel Lalit where the Congress’ central leaders are staying.

Asked about any invitation to PDP for a meeting with the leaders, Karra said such things happen after internal discussions and decisions within the party. “I cannot say anything on that,” he added.

He said the Congress party’s stand is that “we are open (for alliance) to all forces, parties and persons who oppose the BJP”.

“We are ready to talk to all the like-minded parties,” Karra said.

Meanwhile, the BJP asked Rahul Gandhi to clear his party’s stand on Article 370 and Article 35A during his visit.

BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh, who is his party’s organisational in-charge for the Union Territory, said Rahul Gandhi’s visit will introduce him to the “peace and development” ushered in the region by the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He alleged that three families, a reference to the leadership of Congress, the National Conference and the PDP, have over the last several decades stoked embers of separatism and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir with their policies before the BJP government at the Centre turned things around in 2014.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)