Srinagar: In a significant political turn, the National Conference-Congress alliance has secured a victory in the controversial assembly elections in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, overcoming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which suffered substantial losses. The election, labeled as a sham by critics, concluded with the alliance winning a majority of the seats amid accusations of electoral manipulation favoring the BJP.

According to Kashmir Media Service, despite alleged pro-poll rigging strategies that included gerrymandering and the use of state machinery to influence outcomes—such as the disproportionate allocation of new assembly seats in regions with different religious majorities—the BJP won only 29 of the 90 seats, with all its victories confined to the Hindu-majority Jammu region. It failed to secure any seats in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley.

The results marked a decisive win for the National Conference-Congress coalition, which together captured 49 seats, highlighting a robust preference for traditional regional parties over the BJP. The Peoples Democratic Party also won 3 seats, indicating a fragmented voter base with varied political leanings.

Observers have noted that the election results demonstrate a clear rebuff of the BJP’s policies in Kashmir, particularly following the controversial revocation of the region’s special status in August 2019. Many locals and analysts see the election outcome as a plea for a UN-supervised plebiscite to resolve the longstanding dispute over the region’s status.

This election was the first since the constitutional changes of 2019 that ended the region’s special autonomy, making the stakes and the scrutiny exceptionally high, amid continued calls for international observation and intervention in the political processes of the region.