Jammu & Kashmir 2024: BJP Leads in Vote Share, Independents Surpass PDP in Seats

In the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured the highest vote share at 25.5%, despite the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance winning the majority of seats. This election, the first since the abrogation of Article 370, saw the Congress-NC alliance claim 48 seats, allowing them to form the government. The NC won 42 seats, while Congress secured six, just two seats over the majority mark of 46 in the 90-member assembly.

Independent candidates outperformed’s People’s Democratic PaMehbooba Muftirty (PDP), winning seven seats compared to the PDP’s three. This marked a significant decline for the PDP, which had once been a major player in J&K politics and had allied with the BJP in the past. The PDP’s vote share dropped to 8.8%, a far cry from its strong performance in the 2014 elections.

Meanwhile, the BJP won 29 seats, continuing its influence in the region. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also made its debut in the J&K Assembly, winning one seat in the Doda constituency.

The elections, held in three phases, were the first since the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. With the Congress-NC alliance in power, this election result marks a significant political shift in the region.