The BJP scripted history in Haryana on Tuesday, returning to power for the third consecutive time. Meanwhile, in the crucial elections in the border state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance is poised to form the government.

At the BJP headquarters, celebrations erupted after trends for Haryana showed a complete reversal from the exit polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi went to the BJP headquarters with other senior party leaders to join in the celebrations and address the party workers. He said the victory in Haryana demonstrates that the BJP is able to gain the trust of the people who tend to elect the party again and again.

“Once the people throw the Congress out, they do not vote them in. People have put up a ‘no entry’ board for the Congress. After 2011 when their government in Assam was voted back, they have not been able to win a second term,”

Results Disputed

The Congress, on its part, announced that it would “not accept” the verdict in Haryana.

Party leader Jairam Ramesh said: “Results in Haryana are totally unexpected, completely surprising and counter-intuitive going against ground reality and what the people of Haryana had made their mind for which was for change and transformation. It is not possible for us to accept the results that have been announced today”.

J&K Outcomes

In J&K, the NC secured 42 seats, most of them from the Valley, while the Congress captured 6 seats, 5 from Kashmir and one from Jammu. The BJP, which emerged as the second-largest party, won 29 seats from the Jammu region but failed to secure any seat in the Valley. Mehbooba Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party was reduced to just 3 seats, while others won 10 seats. BJP had the highest vote share in the State at 25.64 per cent followed by NC, which got 23.43 per cent of the popular vote. The Congress received 11.97 per cent of the vote.

As trends became clearer, former Chief Minister and the National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah announced that Omar Abdullah would assume the role of Chief Minister. “It is after 10 years that the people gave their mandate to us. We pray to Allah that we live up to their expectations. This will not be a police rule, but of public,” Abdullah said.

Haryana surprise

In Haryana, the BJP defied all pollsters by surpassing its performance in 2014 when it had won 47 seats and 33.20 per cent of the popular vote and in 2019, when it won 40 seats and 36.49 per cent of the popular vote. The BJP won 48 seats this time and a popular vote share of 39.94 per cent. The Congress, with a vote share of 39.09 per cent, won 36 seats and was ahead in one more. However, despite the BJP’s success, eight ministers in the State cabinet were defeated while Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini himself won from Ladwa by 16,054 votes.

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