Exit polls: Congress-NC ahead in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP projected to lose Haryana

Several exit polls on Saturday predicted that the Congress-National Conference alliance will secure victory in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. The Congress was placed ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Haryana.

The predictions were made as the voting for the Assembly election in Haryana concluded on Saturday. A provisional voter turnout of 61.25% was recorded in the state.

The Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir took place in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1. In Haryana, polling occurred in a single phase on Saturday.

The counting of votes in both the states will take place on Tuesday.

Jammu and Kashmir

Polling in Jammu and Kashmir took place to elect 90 MLAs. A total of 46 seats are required for a majority.

Three pollsters – Dainik Bhaskar, India Today-C Voter and Peoples Pulse – have placed the Congress-National Conference alliance ahead in the Union territory.

According to the India Today-C Voter pollster, the Congress-National Conference alliance will win 40-48 seats, whereas the BJP is likely to secure 27-32 seats. The Dainik Bhaskar exit poll has projected 35-40 seats for the alliance, while the Axis My India exit poll has predicted 35-35 seats.

The Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir were the first in 10 years. In 2014, the People’s Democratic Party won 28 seats of the 87 elected seats in the Assembly, followed by the BJP’s 25. The National Conference had won 15 seats and the Congress clinched 12. The People’s Democratic Party and the BJP had formed a post-poll coalition, making Mufti Mohammed Sayeed the chief minister.

After Sayeed’s death in 2016, his daughter Mehbooba Mufti succeeded him. However, the BJP withdrew support in June 2018, leading to the collapse of the government. This was followed by the governor’s rule and the president’s rule until the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

Haryana

The Haryana Assembly has a total of 90 seats and 46 are required to clinch a majority. Pollsters have predicted a comeback for the Congress in the state.

Almost all the pollsters have predicted a clear victory for the Congress in Haryana. The India Today-CVoter exit poll has predicted 50-58 votes for the Congress and 20-28 for the BJP.

In the 2019 Haryana elections, the BJP won 40 seats in the 90-member Assembly. Having fallen short of the majority mark, it had formed the government with the support of the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party. The Congress had won 31 seats.

Manohar Lal Khattar, who had been the state’s chief minister since October 2014, retained his position and Chautala became his deputy.

In March, weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP replaced Khattar with Nayab Singh Saini as the chief minister. The ties between the Hindutva party and the Jannayak Janta Party also snapped, leading to Chautala’s resignation.