Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, 2014

Jammu and Kashmir state assembly elections, 2014
India
November 25 to December 20, 2014
All 87 seats in Legislative Assembly
44 seats needed for a majority
Turnout 65.23%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Nirmal Kumar Singh Omar Abdullah
Party PDP BJP JKN
Leader's seat Anantnag Billawar Beerwah, Sonawar(lost)
Last election 21 11 28
Seats won 28 25 15
Seat change Increase7 Increase14 Decrease 13
Percentage 22.7% 23.0% 20.8%
  Fourth party
 
Party INC
Last election 17
Seats won 12
Seat change Decrease 5
Percentage 18.0%
Chief Minister before election

Omar Abdullah
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
(in coalition with the INC)

 Elected Chief Minister

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party
(in coalition with the BJP)

The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, 2014 was held in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir in five phases from November 25 to December 20, 2014. Voters elected 87 members to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, which ends its six-year term on January 19, 2015. The results were declared on December 23, 2014.[1][2] Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) along with EVMs were used in 3 assembly seats out of 87 in Jammu Kashmir elections.[3][4][5]

Background and campaign

Before the election„ Indian National Congress broke its alliance with Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and contested on all seats in the assembly.[6]

Campaigning before the elections was aggressive and robust. Following the huge victory of Bharatiya Janata Party in the Indian parliamentary election, the BJP turned its attention towards J&K and campaigned on the promise of 'development'. This included a visit from the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi in support of the local BJP campaign.

Boycott Calls

Voting

The polls were carried out in five phases. Despite several boycott calls by hurriyat leaders, elections recorded highest voters turnout in last 25 years. Voters turnout was more than 65% which is higher than usual voting percentage in other states of India.[9][10][11][12]

Voting stages
Date Seats Turnout
Tuesday 25 November 15 71.28%
Tuesday 2 December 18 71%
Tuesday 9 December 16 58.89%
Sunday 14 December 18 49%
Saturday 20 December 20 76%
Total 87 65.23%
Source:[13][14][15][16][17]

The European Parliament, on the behalf of European Union, welcomed the smooth conduct of the State Legislative Elections in the Jammu and Kashmir.[18] The EU in its message said that, "The high voter turnout figure proves that democracy is firmly rooted in India. The EU would like to congratulate India and its democratic system for conduct of fair elections, unmarred by violence, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir".[18][19][20] The European Parliament also takes cognizance of the fact that a large number of Kashmiri voters turned out despite calls for the boycott of elections by certain separatist forces.[19] However, elected Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed said, "If God forbid the Hurriyat and the militants tried to disrupt the elections these would not have been as participative as they had been. They (Pakistan) also allowed these elections to take place." Ruling Party president Mehbooba Mufti also defended Mufti's remarks.[21] While taking dig at Mufti's statement former Chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said that, "In fact, Pakistan and militant groups tried their best to destabilise the democratic process in the state."[22][23]

Results

 Summary of the Jammu and Kashmir state assembly election results
Party Seats Previously +/– Vote % Vote Share
People's Democratic Party 28 21 +7 22.7% 10,92,203
Bharatiya Janata Party 25 11 +14 23.0% 11,07,194
National Conference 15 28 -13 20.8% 10,00,693
Indian National Congress 12 17 -5 18.0% 8,67,883
Jammu & Kashmir People's Conference 2 0 +2
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 1 1 0 0.5%
Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Front 0 0 0
Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party 0 3 -3
People's Democratic Front 1 1 0 - -
Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Party Nationalist 0 1 -1 %
Independents 3 4 -1 %
Total (turnout 65.23%) 87 87 - -
Source: Electoral Commission of India[24]

PDP became the single largest party with 28 seats. BJP became the second largest party with 25 seats.[25]

Omar Abdullah resigned as a chief minister on 24 December 2014.[26]

Government formation

Elected Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi after government formation in Jammu and Kashmir

Three days after the results, the JKN approached the BJP for a meeting to try and form a government. As part of the deal, Nirmal Kumar Singh was to be the chief minister and JKN's MLA Ali Mohammad Sagar was to be his deputy. The deal fell through after a revolt in the JKN. The BJP also rejected this deal, citing morality issues.

In the following days, the JKN also announced its intention to support the PDP from outside by submitting a letter to governor Narinder Nath Vohra after the dialogue with the BJP fell through. The PDP refused.

A week after the results, the PDP and the BJP officially started talks. Both parties had a two-member team to form a Common Minimum Programme (CMP). The PDP was represented by Naeem Akhtar and Haseeb Drabu, while Ram Madhav and Nirmal Kumar Singh represented the BJP. Minister of State in the PMO, Jitendra Singh, supervised the dialogue.

Omar Abdullah resigned as chief minister on 24 December. The Governor accepted his resignation, but asked him to continue in an interim capacity until the formation of a new government. President's rule was imposed on 1 January 2015.

After dealing with issues, both parties turned their attention to the composition of the cabinet. The PDP was initially reluctant for a three-year rotation of the chief minister's post, but later agreed. There were also issues related to the joining of the government by separatist-turned-politician Sajjad Lone. In the run-up to the election, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and praised him by calling him "big brother." The BJP reciprocated by not running a candidate against Lone for the Handwara seat, from where he won, and got elected to the assembly for the first time.

Both parties announced on 25 February that the CMP was almost ready, in a joint press conference called by BJP national President Amit Shah and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti. They also stated that the ideological differences had been "ironed out" and both parties were now working on the formation of a cabinet. The dialogue between both parties ended successfully on 18 February - two months and 5 days after beginning of talks.

The new PDP-BJP government took the oath of office on 1 March in the Zorawar Singh Stadium of Jammu, with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed as chief minister for the full term of six years and Nirmal Kumar Singh as his deputy. Modi was also present for the occasion. Twelve cabinet ministers from each party were also sworn-in. This was the first time that the BJP was a coalition partner in the Jammu and Kashmir government. Lone and independent MLA for Udhampur, Pawan Kumar Gupta, were also sworn-in as cabinet ministers from the BJP's quota.

The CMP was then released in a press conference. The CMP gave a vision of "all-round development of Jammu and Kashmir" and "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" (with everyone, everyone's development). Contentious issues like Article 370 and AFSPA would be referred to a high-power committee, with representation from both parties and civil society. The PDP also agreed to join the NDA's central, with Mehbooba Mufti's induction into the union cabinet, at a later date, and also support the Modi government in both houses of parliament.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "EC announces five-phased polls in J&K, Jharkhand; counting on December 23 | Zee News". Zeenews.india.com. 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  2. ↑ "EC announces five phased polling for Jharkhand and J-K | Business Standard News". Business-standard.com. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20141112041014/http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2014/Oct/26/polls-from-nov-25-results-on-dec-23-52.asp. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ "5-phase polls in J&K, J'khand from Nov 25". Dailypioneer.com. 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  6. ↑ "Congress divorces National Conference after five and half years of marriage". dna. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "J&K separatists call for poll boycott". Deccanherald.com. 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  8. ↑ "Syed Ali Shah Geelani's J&K election boycott call resonates in his hometown Sopore - IBNLive". Ibnlive.in.com. 2014-12-03. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  9. ↑ "J & K records historic polling percentage: EC". The Hindu. 20 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Jammu and Kashmir registers highest voter turnout in 25 years, Jharkhand breaks records". Deccanchronicle.com. 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  11. ↑ "J&K polls: 76 per cent voter turnout recorded in the final phase - IBNLive". Ibnlive.in.com. 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  12. ↑ "Jammu and Kashmir Registers Highest Voter Turnout in 25 Years, Jharkhand Breaks Records". Ndtv.com. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  13. ↑ "Impressive turnout in J&K and Jharkhand". The Hindu. 2014-11-25. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  14. ↑ "J&K assembly polls: Voters defy separatists' election boycott call, 71.28% turnout in first phase". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2014-11-25. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  15. ↑ "71% voting recorded in 2nd phase of Jammu & Kashmir poll". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Polls in the Shadow of Terror: 58% People Vote in Jammu and Kashmir". NDTV. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  17. ↑ "Braving bullets 58% cast ballot in Jammu and Kashmir, 61% voting in Jharkhand in third phase of elections". dna India. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  18. 1 2 "The European Parliament Welcomes the Elections in Jammu & Kashmir - BRUSSELS, December 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/". Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  19. 1 2 "European Parliament welcomes elections in Jammu and Kashmir | Business Standard News". Business-standard.com. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  20. ↑ "EU hails huge turnout in J&K". Dailyexcelsior.com. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  21. ↑ "Mehbooba defends Mufti's remarks on Pakistan". The Hindu. March 2, 2015. Retrieved Jun 8, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Azad slams Mufti remark, asks BJP to explain". Greater Kashmir. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Congress' Azad slams CM Mufti's remark, asks BJP to explain". Firstpost. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "2014 Assembly Election Results of Jammu & Kasmir / Jharkhand". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
  25. ↑ "2014 Assembly Election Results of Jammu & Kasmir / Jharkhand". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-23.
  26. ↑ "Omar Abdullah resigns as J&K CM, says onus of govt formation on PDP, BJP". The Times of India. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.

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