SRINAGAR/RANCHI -- The ruling Bharatiya Janta Party emerged as the key player today in the two state assembly elections with major gains in Jammu and Kashmir and the biggest seat tally in Jharkhand. The BJP won 37 seats in Jharkhand and 25 in J&K’s 87-seat legislature, up from the 11 seats it won last time.
In Jharkhand, a BJP-led coalition is set to form the government, even though with former chief minister Arjun Munda losing his seat, it is unclear who might head the government. In J&K, the government formation is still wide open, with a lot depending on what calculations the People's Democratic Party will be swayed by.
The ruling National Conference in J&K faced a definite washout with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah losing from Sonawar in Srinagar but winning narrowly from Beerwah in Budgam district.
BJP won 26 of the 27 seats it was leading in while PDP has won 25 of 28 seats in J&K. The People’s Democratic Party emerged as the single largest, while the NC had to settle for 15 seats. PDP is in the position to form the next government in the state with the support of either BJP or Congress.
IBNLive quoted PDP's Mehbooba Mufti as saying that her party was not looking to “cobble up a government by manipulation”. “It will take time to build a formation that can fulfill the aspirations of people of J&K. The votes have been cast against the NC and the Congress,” Mufti said.
Abdullah acknowledged that a lot of factors went against the NC.
“Media was not ready to give us more than seven seats before elections. Now we have 14 seats and we have helped two independents. We have got 16-17 seats. We have not got any offer as yet and are not even looking for any offer,” Abdullah said.
“There were a lot of things that did not go in our favour, we could not have expected a better result,” he said. Abdullah told NDTV’s Barkha Dutt that NC is not closed to the idea of supporting PDP if Mufti called him.
Earlier, BJP indicated that it is disinclined to form a government in alliance with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, the NDTV reported quoting senior BJP leaders. NDTV sources said “the party does not see much common ground ideologically with the PDP of Mufti Mohammad Saeed, who seems best placed to be the next chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, a post he has held before.”
Congress ruled out an alliance with the BJP in the state but said it was "open" to aligning with PDP to provide a government. "We are always open. We have allied with PDP as well as with National Conference in past. One thing is clear that we will not go with BJP. As far as they (PDP and NC) are concerned, we have had alliances with them," PTI quoted Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad as saying.
BJP said it has kept all options open for government formation in J&K. Party president Amit Shah said BJP was “open to supporting any party or taking support from any other party."
"Wait for some time, something good will happen in J&K," he said.
Shah attributed the saffron surge in the two states to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma. “In Jammu and Kashmir too, we have improved to quite an extent. Modiji's support has led to the party's victory. Under his leadership, the party won the Lok Sabha elections and other elections like the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections,” Shah said.
Shah did not rule out joining hands with either PDP or National Conference. BJP's decision will also depend on initiatives taken by other parties, he said. The party's Parliamentary Board in its meeting tomorrow will weigh its options in the state and also deliberate on its chief ministerial candidate in Jharkhand, where it is set to form the government, Shah said.
The shock loss of party leader and former chief minister Arjun Munda has further thrown open the leadership issue in Jharkhand. While the J&K Assembly election result has returned a hung verdict, BJP with its ally AJSU is close to crossing the magic number of 41 in the 81-member Jharkhand House.
BJP has emerged as a relevant democratic force in J&K, Shah said.
9 Politicians Who Mattered In J&K And Jharkhand Elections
Narendra Modi(01 of09)
Open Image ModalBJP's performance in J&K and Jharkhand shows the Narendra Modi wave is still an electoral force to reckon with, even if the Opposition is putting up a united front against him in Parliament. He campaigned both in Jharkhand and in J&K, but in the border state, which he visited nine times in the six months he has been PM, he worked his campaign magic hard. Modi did several poll campaigns in J&K in the run-up to the elections. Here he is seen addressing an election rally at Kathua on December 13, 2014, during his fourth poll visit to J&K. (credit:Nitin Kanotra/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Omar Abdullah(02 of09)
Open Image ModalOutgoing chief minister and National Conference working president Omar Abdullah barely managed to win a seat in the Beerwah constituency in J&K, defeating Congress' Nazir Ahmad Khan by 910 votes. Abdullah lost in Sonawar to PDP's Mohammad Ashraf Mir by almost 5,000 votes.He contested elections from two seats and chose not to contest from family's borough Ganderbal, which elected him in 2008. His party won 15 seats, down from 28 seats in the previous assembly. (credit:Waseem Andrabi/ Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed(03 of09)
Open Image ModalMufti Mohammad Sayeed looks set to return as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. All eyes are on the People's Democratic Party chief, as multiple options are before him in forming the government. If he chooses to go with the BJP and form a more stable government, it will be an ideologically incoherent government, and if he cobbles together a government with the Congress and independents, the coalition, it will be an unstable government with a slim majority. His party won big in the valley, and has 28 seats now, up from 21 last time. (credit:Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)
Hina Bhat(04 of09)
Open Image ModalHina Bhat is one of the two Kashmiri Muslim women who contested on a BJP ticket from Kashmir valley. A dental surgeon and daughter of a former National Conference MP, Bhat rose to prominence during the campaign with her controversial statements. She lost from the Amirakadal constituency to Altaf Bukhari of the People's Democratic Party. (credit:TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images)
Mehbooba Mufti(05 of09)
Open Image ModalMehbooba Mufti, president of Peoples Democratic Party, will now be key to negotiations about government formation and in subsequently running the government. (credit:Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)
Hemant Soren(06 of09)
Open Image ModalDespite trailing for much of the counting day, outgoing chief minister Hemant Soren defeated the BJP's Hemlal Murmu in the Barhait seat in Jharkhand. He will lead the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's efforts on the opposition benches now. (credit:Diwakar Prasad/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Arjun Munda(07 of09)
Open Image ModalWhile BJP won big in Jharkhand, the party's best-known face in the state, former chief minister Arjun Munda, lost. Munda had been Jharkhand CM thrice in the past 14 years and had won the Kharsawan seat four times before this. This time, however, he lost, even as BJP won its biggest ever tally of 37 seats. (credit:STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Babulal Marandi(08 of09)
Open Image ModalIn a big election upset, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha's president Babulal Marandi lost from both the constituencies he was running from. Marandi, who was the first Jharkhand CM, lost to Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) candidate Rajkumar Yadav from Dhanwar and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Nirbhay Shabadi from Giridih. His party has won 8 seats. (credit:Sipra Das/The India Today Group/Getty Images)
Amit Shah(09 of09)
Open Image ModalBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah arrives at the party headquarters in New Delhi after an excellent showing in J&K and Jharkhand. During his press conference, he gave all the credit to his former boss Narendra Modi. But Shah's impressive victory streak, beginning with the general elections and continuing through assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and now Jharkhand and Jammu, consolidates his position within the BJP as the ultimate electoral strategist. (credit:Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images)