NEW DELHI: India’s main opposition Congress was expected to return to power in Haryana after 10 years while its alliance with the National Conference (NC) has an edge over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in held Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), exit polls suggested on Sunday.

The first assembly elections in a decade in J&K concluded on Tuesday. The polling in Haryana was held on Saturday. The votes will be counted on October 8.

A party or an alliance needs 46 seats to form the government. Republic TV - P Marq said Congress was expected to get 55-62 seats, the BJP 18-24 and others 2-5 seats. Times Now gave the Congress 50-64 seats, the BJP 22-32, and others 2-8.

CVoter projected the BJP as likely to get 27-32 seats out of 43 in the Jammu region while NC-Congress 11-15, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 0-2, others 0-1.

Omar Abdullah downplays exit polls saying he was amazed that TV channels were bothering with them

In the Kashmir valley, the NC-Congress was expected to get 29-33 seats out of 47, BJP 0-1, PDP 6-10, and others 6-10. The NC-Congress was overall projected to get 40-48 out of 90 seats, BJP 27-32, PDP 6-12, and others 6-11. A party or an alliance needs 46 seats to form the government.

Former Bihar chief minister Lalu Yadav said the exit polls heralded a defeat for India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Republic TV - P Marq projected NC-Congress as expecting to form the government with 55-62 seats. The BJP was likely to get 18-24 and others 2-5 seats.

Former chief minister and NC leader Omar Abdullah downplayed the exit polls saying he was amazed that TV channels were bothering with them, especially after the fiasco of the recent general elections exit polls. “I’m ignoring all the noise on channels, social media, WhatsApp Etc because the only numbers that matter will be revealed on the 8th of Oct. The rest is just time-pass.”

Agencies add: Local media reported that Congress had a clear advantage in exit polls in the northern state of Haryana, indicating an end to a decade of rule by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. The opposition also held an edge in held Jammu and Kashmir.

The two elections were held in phases that ended on Saturday. Votes will be counted on Tuesday and results will be announced the same day. The exit poll results were released late on Saturday.

Exit polls, conducted by private polling firms including TV broadcasters, have a patchy record in India, which analysts say poses a particular challenge due to its large and diverse voting population.

The exit polls had projected Modi’s BJP would win a large majority in the general election in June, but it fell short and had to depend on regional parties to secure a majority and form a coalition government.

The two Indian territories are the first to go to the polls since the national elections.

India’s industrial hub of Maharashtra and the mineral-rich eastern state of Jharkhand, next up in provincial elections, are awaiting the announcement of poll dates that are expected to be in November.

The held Kashmir election was the first in a decade in the Himalayan region, which has endured years of violence. Its status as a special semi-autonomous entity was revoked in 2019 by Modi’s government.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2024