Karra says party to introspect on poor show in elections
Srinagar, Oct 9: Although the Congress party is likely to be part of the upcoming government in J&K, it has performed poorly in the recent assembly elections, witnessing a sharp decline in its vote share.
The National Conference-Congress alliance contested the elections jointly, with the former contesting 51 seats and the latter 32. However, the Congress secured victory in only six constituencies. Senior party leaders, including Tara Chand and Lal Singh, also lost their seats. In Jammu, out of 29 candidates, only one managed to win.
J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra acknowledged the party’s underperformance in the elections.
“The party will introspect on the poor performance in the J&K Assembly polls,” Karra said. He also suggested that lapses in administration or possible deliberate actions may have contributed to the party’s performance.
A total of 873 candidates contested across 90 assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, with 47 seats in Kashmir and 43 in the Jammu region.
The vote counting took place on Wednesday, with the National Conference securing 42 seats, followed by the BJP with 29, Congress with 6, JKPDP with 3, and the remaining seats going to smaller parties and independents.
Jammu and Kashmir are set to have an elected government for the first time in 10 years, following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
The J&K Assembly elections were held in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1. Voter turnout in the first phase was 61.38%, dropping to 57.31% in the second phase before rising to 69.65% in the final phase. The overall voter turnout stood at 62.78%.
In the 2014 Assembly elections, the PDP secured 28 seats, the BJP won 25 seats (all in Jammu), followed by the NC with 15, and Congress with 12.
