Jammu and Kashmir got an elected government after six years in 2024, but restoration of statehood is difficult. The situation on the security front cannot be said to be worth relaxing because the series of terrorist attacks has not stopped.
Many things happened for the first time in the assembly elections held in Jammu and Kashmir after a gap of 10 years.
Elections were held for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir after the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution were abrogated and after becoming a Union Territory. Members of the banned socio-religious party Jamaat-e-Islami also took part in these elections, held for the first time after the rise of militancy.
This was the first election in which a single party, the National Conference, won almost a majority on its own. It won 42 seats in the 90-member assembly.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has become the fourth leader of Jammu and Kashmir to take oath as Chief Minister for the second time. Apart from him, his grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, father Farooq Abdullah and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had achieved this feat.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the second largest party in Jammu, winning 29 out of 43 seats in the region.
The Congress, hoping to improve its performance in the Jammu region, could not win a single seat in Hindu-dominated areas. It won a total of six seats, including five in the Valley and one in the Muslim-dominated Rajouri area.
The PDP had the worst performance among the mainstream parties, winning only three seats, compared to 28 in the 2014 elections.
Efforts to field former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti from the family stronghold Bijbehera in electoral politics also failed.
In Jammu, BJP’s then Jammu and Kashmir unit president Ravindra Raina faced defeat. At one time he was considered a candidate for the post of Chief Minister.
The assembly elections saw huge participation even in those areas which are known for boycotting elections. Many former separatist leaders or their relatives contested the elections here.
The National Conference benefited from the resentment against the removal of Article 370. In 2014, it had only 15 seats, which increased to almost three times this time.
Sticking to its election promises, the National Conference government passed a resolution in the first meeting of the Cabinet to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir and subsequently passed a significant resolution in the Assembly to restore the special status. BJP created ruckus in the assembly after the passing of this resolution.
Earlier this year, the Lok Sabha elections produced some surprising results in the valley, but victory on two seats in Jammu was considered certain. Union Minister Jitendra Singh and his BJP colleague Jugal Kishore Sharma both won the Lok Sabha for the third consecutive time.
The biggest shock was Omar Abdullah’s defeat from Baramulla to jailed leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid. Local strongman Sajjad Gani Lone also lost, as Rashid’s sons launched an emotional campaign to “save their father from the gallows”.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also suffered a setback, losing the Lok Sabha elections for the second consecutive time. This time she lost to MA Ahmed Larvi, a prominent Gujjar leader, who was a reluctant candidate but bowed to the wishes of the top leadership of the National Conference.
Aga Ruhullah of National Conference was also elected to the Lok Sabha. He defeated terrorism accused PDP leader Waheed Para from Srinagar.
National Conference President and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah did not contest any election.
Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is now leading his own separate party, but the party already seems to be falling apart. The Democratic Progressive Azad Party had announced that former Chief Minister Azad would contest the Lok Sabha elections from Anantnag-Rajouri. However, he withdrew his steps within a few days.
Due to ill health, Azad rarely campaigned during the assembly elections and his party failed to win a single seat.
The security situation in Jammu and Kashmir remained overall peaceful during the year, although some attacks were carried out by terrorists.
Terrorists carried out attacks in Udhampur, Kathua, Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu. Apart from this they also attacked security forces and important infrastructure projects in Kashmir.
The deadliest attack took place at a tunnel construction site in Gagangir in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, killing a total of seven people, including six migrant laborers and a local doctor.
