After the announcement of the Jammu Kashmir election results, four independent MLAs extended support to Omar Abdullah's National Conference, leading his party secure the majority mark. With this, the role of the Congress, which had won six seats in the Union Territory, seems to have been reduced from a junior partner to a relatively insignificant one in the incoming government.
Independents Pyare Lal Sharma, Satish Sharma, Choudhary Mohammed Akram, and Dr Rameshwar Singh, who won the Inderwal, Chhamb, Surankote, and Bani seats, respectively, have backed the NC.
Congress and National Conference had contested the Jammu Kashmir Assembly elections in an alliance. While the NC won 42 seats, Congress managed to win just six. However, the alliance was in a comfortable position to form a coalition government. But with the entry of four new independents in the picture, the NC has reached the majority mark of 46, apart from the six seats secured by Congress.
This means that Abdullah's party has support of enough lawmakers to form a government, dimissing the need for the Congress's support to govern. The recent development is an addition to the crisis the grand old party has been facing over the last decade, the most recent being the "unexpected" Haryana setback.
However, the margins are slim as even if a single MLA back down, the NC will fall below the required majority mark of 46, and the Congress's six-seat strong support would help it stay in the game comfortably.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which dominated the Jammu region, scored 29 seats. Since the results, the saffron outfit's count has risen to 32 after support from the other three independents. Ex-Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's People's Democratic Party collapsed, as it witnessed a significant drop from its 2014 tally of 28 to merely three in these elections, quashing any hope of playing 'kingmaker' in government formation.
Omar Abdullah Elected As Legislative Party Leader
In another major development that followed after a meeting of NC MLAs on Thursday afternoon, Omar Abdullah was unanimously elected the legislative party leader and is set to become the next Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
"You are aware of the decision that was taken. A meeting of the NC legislature party took place, the legislature party has decided its leader and I am thankful from the bottom of my heart to the NC legislators that they have reposed their faith in me and given me a chance to stake claim for government formation," Abdullah told reporters after being elected leader of the legislature party.
He also said that four of the seven Independent MLAs extended support to the NC. Abdullah also said that talks were underway with the Congress for government formation and that the NC was waiting for a letter of support from its ally. "Talks are on with the Congress. They have been given a day to decide. Once they give us a letter of support, I will stake claim for government formation," Abdullah added.
On October 8, former chief minister and veteran politician Farooq Abdullah had declared "Omar Abdullah banega Chief Minister" after the Jammu Kashmir results were announced.