Kashmir's ruling party misses majority in polls
Kashmir’s ruling party failed to win enough seats to form a majority government, and may end up in opposition if it cannot form an alliance, almost complete election results showed today.
With nearly all of the ballots counted from the month-long election for the Jammu-Kashmir state assembly, the National Conference, which has dominated the state since independence in 1947, fell far short of the 44 seats it needed to hold a majority in the 87-seat legislature.
With votes from 83 constituencies counted, the National Conference had won 26 seats.
Its two main opposition rivals, Congress and the People’s Democratic Party, had 20 seats and 16, respectively, also short of a majority even if they form an alliance as they have said they were willing to do.
It appeared the 20 seats won by independents and smaller parties would be key to deciding who forms the next government of the Himalayan province at the heart of the decades-old India-Pakistan dispute.
None of the major parties have any sympathy for the Islamic militants who have fought since 1989 to wrest the Muslim-majority region from Hindu majority India, so there would be no change in major policy.
The National Conference is a member of the Hindu nationalist-led coalition that governs India.
Congress is in the opposition on the national level. That means that relations between the state and national government might be more fractious, if Congress and the People’s Democratic Party were to form the next government.
