Taaza Samachar

Congress to win Haryana, no power sharing in Jammu and Kashmir: Exit polls

The Congress may form the next government in Haryana, ending the BJP’s 10-year rule; and its alliance with the National Conference may lead the race in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to a fractured mandate.

The Congress, which has performed much better in the Lok Sabha elections, may end this year with good results, according to exit polls. The party may form the next government in Haryana, ending the BJP’s 10-year rule; and its alliance with the National Conference may lead the race in Jammu and Kashmir, leading to a fractured mandate.

The Congress will win 55 of the 90 seats in Haryana – well ahead of the halfway mark of 45, according to seven exit polls.

In Jammu and Kashmir, which still has 90 seats after delimitation, the Congress-National Conference alliance is likely to win 43 seats – three short of the majority figure.

The Congress, which performed well in the Lok Sabha elections, may end the year with a good result, according to exit polls. The party may form the next government in Haryana, ending the BJP’s 10-year rule; and its alliance with the National Conference may be ahead in the race in Jammu and Kashmir, where a fractured mandate may emerge.

According to seven exit polls, the Congress will win 55 of the 90 seats in Haryana – well ahead of the halfway mark of 45.

In Jammu and Kashmir, which still has 90 seats after delimitation, the Congress-National Conference alliance is likely to win 43 seats – three short of the majority figure.

However, exit polls can often prove wrong.

The BJP may win 27 seats each in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. One exit poll, GIST-TIF Research, has given the BJP an outside margin – the maximum – of 37 seats in Haryana.

In Haryana, Abhay Chautala’s INLD (Indian National Lok Dal) may win two seats and BJP’s former ally JJP (Jananayak Janata Party) may win one seat.

According to the exit polls, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party will not even open its account in Haryana despite being in power in neighbouring Delhi and Punjab.

In Jammu and Kashmir, where assembly elections are being held after a decade, there are interesting possibilities due to the prediction of a hung house.

According to three exit polls, Congress and National Conference will get 43 seats each. BJP’s projected 26 points may put it far away from the majority figure, making it difficult for it to form alliances with smaller parties or independents.

BJP’s former ally Mehbooba Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party, which is likely to win seven seats, is hoping to emerge as the kingmaker. The party has ruled out any possibility of an alliance with the BJP and has spoken only in terms of a “secular alliance”.

The BJP-PDP alliance, formed after another split mandate in 2014, collapsed in 2018, following which President’s rule was imposed in the state.It was divided into two Union Territories in 2019; the BJP has pledged to undo this during its third term in power. The ball could thus be in the court of the National Conference and the Congress, so that they can send a signal to the PDP.

But the hurdle here is the historic rivalry between the erstwhile NC and the PDP, which have always competed for votes in the Kashmir Valley. Before the election, Mehbooba Mufti had made a hefty offer to the NC-Congress alliance, saying she was ready to stay out of the election and leave all the assembly seats for them if they were ready to accept the PDP’s agenda, including Kashmir.