Jammu and Kashmir Election 2024: Going by early trends, former Chief Minister Mahbooba Mufti-led Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to have lost touch with voters in the union territory (UT), with the party failing to hold even its south Kashmir stronghold. As per the latest data released by the Election Commission of India, Iltija Mufti, daughter of PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, is trailing behind National Conference’s Bashir Ahmad Veeri from the Bijbehara assembly segment. She conceded defeat even before the final results were declared by the Election Commission.
However, PDP’s youth president Waheed Parra, is leading in the Pulwama assembly segment. PDP's candidate from Kupwara, Mir Mohammad Fayaz and its Karnah candidate Firdous Ahmad Mir were also leading in the initial rounds of counting.
This is the first Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir post-Article 370 abrogation. The Mufti-led PDP is battling for survival after it tied up with the BJP in 2014 and opened the floodgates.
Mufti, who lost the Lok Sabha election to the National Conference (NC) from Anantnag, has opted out of the assembly polls. She, however, campaigned with gusto to ensure PDP candidates, hoping the party would stay afloat. In her place, debutant daughter Iltija Mufti has become the third generation of the Mufti clan to join electoral politics.
The counting of votes began at 8 am at 28 counting centres for the 90 seats of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly which went to polls in three phases.