New Delhi:

National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah has posted a selfie on vote-counting day in Jammu and Kashmir, one of the two newest Union Territories.

Mr Abdullah is leading in both Budgam and Ganderbal seats, while Iltija Mufti of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is trailing in the Srigufwara-Bijbehara seat, according to initial trends.

The trends so far also indicate the Congress and the NC alliance have crossed the halfway mark with 51 seats in the bag. The Jammu and Kashmir assembly has 90 seats.

“Counting day 7K done. Last time around it didn’t end well for me personally. Insha Allah this time around it will be better,” Mr Abdullah said in a post on X.

Counting day 7K done. Last time around it didn’t end well for me personally. InshaAllah this time around it will be better. pic.twitter.com/TUkjLtVKGn

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 8, 2024

Mr Abdullah told reporters there should be no “fiddling” with the mandate of the people in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Centre and the Raj Bhavan must not indulge in any “machinations”.

“Transparency should be there. Whatever happens should be done in a transparent manner. There should be no fiddling with the peoples’ mandate. If the mandate of the people is against the BJP, then the BJP should not indulge in any ‘jugaad’ (machinations) or something else,” Mr Abdullah told reporters as trends from counting showed the party ahead of the BJP and other rivals.

“The Raj Bhavan and the Centre should accept the decision of the people the way we did in the parliamentary polls,” Mr Abdullah said.