In the Jammu Kashmir Assembly elections, the alliance between Congress and the National Conference (NC) faced significant challenges, with NC emerging as the dominant party, securing 42 seats.
Despite the alliance, Congress performed poorly, securing only six of the 37 seats it contested, a steep decline from previous elections. This is the lowest result for Congress in the region’s last nine assembly polls, surpassing its prior lowest of seven seats in 1996.
In the 2014 elections, Congress had contested 86 out of 87 seats, including four in Ladakh, winning three of those, however, with Ladakh now a separate union territory, those constituencies were excluded from this year’s elections. In the latest polls, Congress managed to win five seats in Kashmir: Shalteng, Wagoora-Kreeri, Bandipora, Dooru, and Anantnag (Main).
In Jammu, however, Congress secured only one seat, a significant decline from five seats in the previous election.
Comparatively, in the 2014 elections, Congress captured 12 seats with 18.01% of the total vote share, securing 867,883 votes.
In contrast, the 2024 elections saw its vote share decrease to 11.97%, with a total of 682,666 votes.
Despite the alliance with NC to counter the BJP, the partnership did not yield the expected results, with Congress contesting 32 seats and jointly contesting five others with NC.
In Kashmir, Congress’s wins came from candidates like Irfan Hafeez Lone (Bagora Kareri), Nizamuddin Bhat (Bandipora), state president Tariq Hameed Qara (Central Shalteng), Pirzada Muhammad Sayeed (Anantnag), and former state president Ghulam Ahmed Mir (Duroo).
In Jammu, Iftikhar Ahmed won the only seat for Congress in Rajouri. Previously, Waqar Rasool Wani had held this seat for Congress, but he could not retain it this time. The party also lost Sorankot, another previously held seat.
Over the years, Congress’s performance has shown a declining trend; Congress’s performance has steadily declined over the years, starting from its peak of 61 seats in 1967 and dropping significantly to 58 seats in 1972. The decline continued with 26 seats in both 1983 and 1987, followed by a further reduction to 7 seats in 1996.
It saw a brief rise to 17 seats in 2008, but then dropped to 12 seats in 2014 and reached a low of 6 seats in 2024.
The Banihal seat, contested by both NC and Congress, exemplifies the alliance’s challenges. In 2014, Waqar Rasool Wani of Congress had won this seat. However, disagreements over candidate nominations led to both parties fielding separate candidates in this election, resulting in divided votes.
NC’s Sajjad Shaheen ultimately won with 33,128 votes, while Wani trailed with 20,458 votes, finishing third.
The Congress’s failure to negotiate alliances and retain key constituencies has led to a diminished presence in the Jammu Kashmir Assembly, highlighting the challenges it faces in rebuilding its voter base and strategy in the region.
For more updates and analysis on Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections Of2024, visit ETV Bharat.